How To Save a Life
by Elizabeth Anne19
Summary: Forget everything you know you've been taught through Disney about mermaids, this has to do with mermaids, but their not Disney's. Horrid half fish creatures that hunger for human souls. Gaara is half incubus, Naruto is his best friend there are NO LEMONS
1. Chapter 1

**How to Save a Life**

** Hello, welcome to my first Naruto Fan fiction! (I'm sorry, but Gaara's gonna talk a lot more then his character should) And I know, the summary is slightly shitty sounding, so I'm going to give you the whole summary here:**

Ireland 1501, Gaara is the son of an incubus living with Naruto a young man in his teens; they are experts in assassination and theft. Gaara is an assassination expert who loves what he does, likes the idea that his heart is black and his soul is empty.

Now, look around Ireland and what do you see? Water, exactly. And inside that water? Mermaids. But forget all the shit you know from 'The Little Mermaid' and think of this: horrid fish-finned monsters that look very similar to maidens from the waist up, but, have you ever met a mermaid that wanted to devour you and steal your soul? Well, Gaara's about to.

**Story:**

The crisp morning air was something that I relished in whenever that soft land of dreams made him wake, Ireland having it's own distinct smell that no one can describe no matter how hard they try. Smelling the crisp ocean air was a blessing that none of us really knew was there and the magic that accompanied Ireland was a gift in itself that almost everyone misunderstood the true beauty of the potato-filled island.

I however, haven't slept in over seventeen years, so I haven't smelt the crispness of morning air opposed to when I close my eyes at night, never actually sleeping. I haven't seen as much of the world as I've wanted; only been to France and Ireland- originally from England.

I had an accent at one point, but now it only takes a day to morph into an accent thanks to my line of work. I've worn dresses and played the royal, kissed hands and stroked ego's, but one of the things I did, no matter where I went: I killed. England my count was at least one hundred, after that in France the count went up to one-fifty. Then Ireland, still no new numbers, but a list to take out, and a handsome pay in gold if I did it quietly and without a trace.

Back in England I had met a young boy when I was only five, running around the streets of London to steal food and pick pockets as best a five year old can. The short scruffy blonde hair and the bright blue eyes had caught my attention right away and I have been by his side ever since. I'm not really sure why he'd caught my attention so much, I'd come across so many other blonde haired blue eyed boys in England in the same boat as me: parents gone and alone on the streets. But something about his hand on the same apple to lift from the vender, it made me want to make sure he didn't get hurt.

I was a year older then him, and learned shortly after I'd grabbed two apples and the boy's hand that his name was Naruto- odd just like mine. We'd spent the night talking and shared our back stories.

My father had killed my mother the day I was born, and then he left me there, helpless. I was found maybe a day later and was taken in by one of the knights. When I turned five I woke up one morning and decided I didn't want to be on the good side of the law, so I grabbed up as much as I could in a bag and took off.

Naruto didn't know what happened to his parents when we met. He was just, surviving. We'd eventually learned that his father had been a master criminal when an old man commented on how Naruto looked exactly like him. We'd stayed together since that first day, never letting anyone in and never needing anything. Naruto was better at stealing, I was better at killing. Some things just work out for the better if you think about it, it can work out so much better if you don't fight your problems and just kill them.

The scent of the morning air caught my attention again with a slight smell of smoke, letting me know that the neighbors were getting up and starting their fires up to get their houses warming. It was just about time for me to go out for my morning walk, but I didn't know what to get on this morning walk. I still had to gather information on my target, but it just wouldn't be the same since I knew he was going into the market today like he did every second day at sunrise- not sleeping has it's advantages.

Naruto rolled over and pulled his head further under the thin woolen blanket and I let out a sigh, we hadn't been prepared for the weather being as cold as it was and I had to lift another blanket or get Naruto to steal the gold coin for it since I was broke until my list was complete.

I got up off my own cot and walked over once my shoes were in place, I lay my blanket over Naruto's body and noticed as he snuggled further into the warm side as I got up to get the stove going.

I lit a fire with my flint and stuffed it into the fairly large fire place, watching as all the dry wood caught and decided I should chop more wood. I'm not really sure why we didn't keep the fire burning all the time, I never slept so there was no worry for it spreading outside the hearth boundary, but I never stayed in the small cottage all night so it could still have been a fire hazard.

Once I was outside chopping wood I realized that it wasn't the scent of fire coming from any of the houses around ours, it was still pitch black out, but the smell was coming from the harbor.

The sudden screams of people broke out as a small explosion sound hit my ears along with a large plume of fire and smoke. My eyes went wide as I dropped the axe, knowing that something huge was wrong by the docks.

I had decided to veto the shirt I'd left in our cottage to just see what was going on. Men were yelling to get water, and receiving reply's like 'It's on the water ya bloody oaf!' and 'there's not'in we can do man!' I stopped once I crested the hill, seeing straight down over the town, people running with buckets, others running from house to house grabbing children incase another explosion happened.

The largest vessel in our harbor at the time was a pirate ship, not too odd for the small speck that was our village by the sea. But no one thought it'd be on fire. The men had come into town, taken what they wanted, gotten into fights with plenty and I'd even killed a few.

I could see no one on board, and it was pretty far off in the harbor, almost in the open water, but close enough that the pirates still on land were trying to get out to save the grand ship.

I sat myself down once I got to the cliff for the better view, the sight of carnage something I rather enjoyed a little more then most men. I could feel the heat of the fire from my vantage point. A movement on deck caught my eye and I watched, shocked as what looked like a mermaid slipped from the deck of the ship into the water.

My eyes remained locked on the black abyss that was the ocean, for the longest time I saw nothing but a ripple that could have been a fish. But as I remained looking at the water, I noticed something emerge, much slower then a fish could have and before I knew it, it just seemed like a girl was floating there in the water, a smile on her face and a lock of hair falling down between her black eyes. For a moment I thought I heard her giggle, but then much quicker then she'd appeared, she'd vanished.

Legs were heavy and my arms hurt, I couldn't move for some odd reason as I waited for the girl to resurface, to see if she was my imagination or not. But nothing happened.

Another long while passed, the ship had burned itself a hole in the hull and was sunk, the pirates were pissed off and threatening to pillage the town, but the men had revolted against them and it was close to a bloodbath down on the docks as women cheered on and some of the children who were awake followed their parents lead. A hand clapped down on my shoulder and I turned to see a man standing there, a huge smile on his face as he grabbed my hair and pulled my to my feet, I hadn't even thought my red hair was long enough to grab.

"Get your ass up! How can you sit by and watch all my mates get killed?" I kept my teeth clenched tight, I figured I knew what this guy wanted and would kill him before he got it.

I hated the fact everyone figured they could get some kind of sex out of me. I'd had women and men try and 'shame me' as they put it so bluntly, unfortunately everyone who tried to touch me ended up dead.

My lips were roughly smashed against his and I kept my jaw clenched through the biting at my lips for me to open my mouth. I made a fist and jabbed it into the mans gut, bringing my knee up into his face as he doubled over. I could feel as he grabbed my pants and dragged me to the ground with him.

I tried to roll to keep the high ground but was caught under him, a dangerous look in his eyes and all my weapons at home. I tried to punch him but he caught both my wrists and pinned them above my head. "Common, scream. You want to, don't you? Little fucking whore. What kind of guy makes a whore anyways?"

I was slowly loosing my composure as he straddled my hips so I couldn't kick him, but as long as he was like that he couldn't do anything to me either. "Scream dammit! I wanna hear you beg me to stop!"

His grip loosened substantially and I pulled both my arms down so my locked fists smashed into his head. It only took two hits to get him off of me before I changed positions. I'm not too sure how long I sat on top of him, beating him with my interlocked fists, all I knew when I stopped was that my hands were hurting too much to keep beating him.

My face had been splattered in a bit of blood at my chest was soaked in it as I got up and wiped my lips off with my pale arm. I grabbed one of his legs and tugged him closer to the cliff, once he was close enough I set my foot on his back and pushed him over, my bloodied arms crossed over my chest as I watched his body hit a few rocks on the way down before finally disappearing into the murky depths of the Atlantic Ocean.

I spit after the body, watching as it disappeared. I noticed the same face from before appear close to where the body had vanished, and before I could see anything in great detail she vanished again, into the depths like he had.

"Gaara! Is that you?" I froze as Naruto's voice came from behind me, I hated him seeing me after I killed, especially when it was a messy kill like that had been. I didn't turn around as he ran up behind me, I could feel him only a few feet away and squeezed my eyes tightly shut. "Gaara, are you alright? There was apparently a fire on that pirate ship! The crew was all killed on the docks! The entire city is in an uproar because another one might come!" the sound of his feet crushing the green grass stopped and I cringed, I didn't want to turn around, to have him see how horrible I was for having killed yet another man.

"Naruto, did you smother the fire?"

"N-no but-"

"Go smother the fire, I'll be back by morning, I promise. Try and catch some more sleep if you can." my voice was tight as I tried not to shake. I heard him stammer a bit, but when I felt the hand pat my shoulder twice I knew he was going to go back to the cottage.

I knew it wasn't going to take too long to get cleaned up and back to the cottage. My mind was swimming with what that girl was doing in the water so late at night, and who she was, but I just knew that it wasn't good, and I'd have to look through the town's archives.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

We had planned it perfectly, our singing had calmed my brothers raging storm as the five of us looked for a plank to hold onto. I spotted one and tapped one of the others shoulders, giggling as we all swam over and attached ourselves to it.

The shouts of the pirates could be heard as the fire continued thanks to the lightning my brother brought to the storm, it was so perfect… I only wish I could have made storms like that instead of just calm them. I heard a few of them yell something about water to put the fires out before they could do damage and smirked as Sakura raised her hand up, waving it as he long pink hair floated out behind her.

"Help us! Please help!" I smirked, her sea-green eyes shimmered with the light of the fire. We all raised a hand and did the same, our fish tails gently flicking under us to keep us all adrift. Each one of us thought we were the best, the prettiest, and had the best voice, but truth was: I was. My family lineage provided that I'd be the best in every which way. I was an Uchiha after all, and it was my birthright to be the best in every way without even trying. My twin brother had managed to create a storm with lightning after all, my abilities were the exact opposite of his with the same strength.

I noticed as one of the men noticed us, his jaw dropping as we all cooed at him for help, we had roughly ten minutes until the rest of the town noticed and started to watch.

The sailors were about to leave us alone, but a tall man with white hair came out of the captains hold and he took one look at us before ordering men into the water to help, joining himself once he'd taken his gun and sword off.

I watched as he swam right up to me, a perverted expression on his face as he wrapped an arm around my back and crushed our chests together, noticing right away that I was topless and not noticing that I had a scaly black fin instead of long pale legs to match the rest of my fleshy skin.

"My, my, my… looks like we have ourselves some sea goddesses… were you tossed over board of your ship?" I nodded my head and gripped my fingers into the soaked front of his jacket, feeling the tension build as I just pondered if I should drown him first or eat him alive… drowning would be quieter. "The name is Jiraiya by the way. What's yours?"

I felt a smile cross my face and I pulled him slightly closer, my lips just ghosting over his. I'm sure he could feel the slight amount of slime that was there from being out of the water, but he didn't seem to notice. "Ember." I sealed our lips together, hating the horrid feeling of his chapped, hungry lips on mine as I tightened my fingers in his shirt, feeling his tongue in my mouth was the last thing I remember before I flipped around and started dragging him down into the water.

I opened my eyes and smiled as I saw his eyes widen, he pushed me away and tried to swim for the surface, but the kiss had made him loose precious time before he had to take another breath, but I never did listen to my parents in that sense, I loved playing with my food.

I swam up to him and grabbed his shirt again, pressing another kiss to his lips as I breathed out a bit of air, he took in as much as he could before continuing the kiss. I wrapped my arms around his neck and started gently pulling him back down so he could start to feel the water pressure building.

Even mermaids had their limit with how deep they could go, but the only advantage I'd found in that sense of being an Uchiha, is I didn't. I could go as deep as I want, therefore I had more ways to kill people then others. I pulled my mouth away from his and started peppering kisses on his neck, waiting for him to signal me for more air, and when he did, I didn't give it.

I floated there, holding his arms so he couldn't punch me, my fin out behind me so he couldn't kick me as I watched him struggle to get out of my grasp. I felt so powerful as the light faded from his eyes, much quicker then I thought it would. As soon as he stopped struggling I loosened my grasp and pulled his head to one side, loving out our wonderful dark vision as I bit down on his neck, feeling the warm tang of his blood as I started my feast.

Once I was done with the all too willing captain I swam back up as fast as I could and propelled myself on deck for the last straggler that was there. It was uncommon for us mermaids to go onto the desk of a ship, but I could change much quicker then any other after all my time alive and my fin quickly shifted to legs and I was able to rush towards the last man and eat to my hearts content.

Two was enough for me, one would have been good, but I was given enough power for another year, one human life was equivalent to half a year of immortality for us so for three thousand years I'd eaten two human beings a year.

"Ember! Hurry up, their coming in long boats!" Ino's voice hit my ears and I turned to the side of the ship, there was nothing left but a bit of blood and his feet, but I never ate the feet- who would?

As quickly as I could I ran to the edge of the ship and launched myself off, legs turning to fin once I submerged into the water fully. The other four maids were waiting there for me, Sakura with long pink hair and a pink tail, Ino with long blonde hair and a periwinkle tail, then both Hinata and Tenten, long dark brown hair, Hinata with a blue tail and Tenten with a purple tail.

I smirked as I tapped the edges of my mouth, pretending like I was elegantly wiping my lips like all the refined nobles. "Well, that was tasty." I started swimming back towards Atlantis, my heart pounding as I got closer and closer to the underwater hell hole I'd called home since my best friend had managed to sink it because he'd gotten pissed at his parents- though that was a closely guarded secret between the two of us.

The city was in horrible condition, it was covered in coral and barnacles, seaweed, anemone, clams, sea cucumbers, crabs, and any other types of sea creatures you could think of. Of course it had it's gold rooms, even some entire buildings filled with gold, but what good was it to us? We hunted our own food and we didn't sleep on beds we were more comfortable on rocks, and I liked sleeping four hours during sunrise and four hours during sunset.

I could already tell by the thick current around our house that my brother was upset, most likely about our little fight we'd had, but I knew a few reassuring words would soothe him.

"Sasuke! I'm back from my hunt. How is everything in- whoa!" I ducked as a pot came hurtling towards my head, glaring as he swam back and forth, his pitch black hair and tail matching my own, our eyes usually both deep and black as well, but due to his anger his eyes were red as blood.

"Ember, how dare you leave when we were in the middle of a discussion!"

"Well I told you my views and I decided to leave. Now I hope you don't think, I'm going to clean this all up just because I'm a girl. I have to go talk with Shikamaru as it is."

"See? You spend every freaking waking moment of the day with him as it is! Why cant you just marry him like I want and get it over with?"

"Because Sasuke, I don't want to get married. Shikamaru knows that. Besides, he get's a new up-worlder bride every couple hundred years. So why should I bother getting in the way of-"

"Because he has feelings for you and you know it! Why the hell do you play these games? It's not just with Shikamaru, Ember. It's with everyone! You've done this for three thousand years and it needs to stop, now!" I noticed the rage in his eyes and felt the water around him start to stir, I knew if I didn't leave he was going to create a world-pool.

It was true, I loved tormenting people. There had been many other suitors Sasuke had tried to set me up with, but what could I say? Mer-folk just didn't interest me as much as humans. Shikamaru knew that more then anyone, we'd made love countless times over the years as humans- unknown by Sasuke of course. But I was born without a soul anyways, so what would it matter if I had a lot of fun?

"I'll talk to Shikamaru about it Sasuke… but I doubt we'll come up with any more of an agreement then we have the other times we've talked about non-existent feelings." I rolled my eyes and head out to find Shikamaru in his usual star-gazing spot.

I popped my head out of the water by the cliff, just minutes after the ship had sunk after noticing the splash as a human fell into the water, but two was enough for me and I left it alone, deciding to look up at the top of the cliff to see what had happened.

A bloodied boy stood there, a glare on his face as he looked down on me now, his eyes shocked for a moment. I knew I had to have him, his heart, his soul… just looking at him made me want my own soul, and if I had to become a horrid human and marry him to get it then I would. I'd hide his soul in a cage for my own so many times over that he'd never be able to find it again.

I saw his mouth opening and decided I'd stayed long enough, having to finish my swim to find my best friend to speak of the new adventure that was brewing in my mind: a soul of my very own, no matter what the cost was.

"Shikamaru!" I noticed him floating above the water, his grey fin just flicking back and forth leisurely as he looked up at the stars, his hands behind his head and a most likely calm expression on his face. I swam up underneath him and gently stroked my fingers down his back, loving the reaction he gave as he shivered and sunk back into the water with little to no effort.

"Ember? What're you doing here? Sasuke manage to sink Ireland yet?"

"Nope, he wants me to marry you again." I could see the hopeful glint in his eye, but I wasn't about to pay attention to that in the slightest when I had my next master plan to tell him.

"Oh… and what did you tell him this time?" I knew he was waiting for me, that he refused to make his many landlubber wives a mermaid to be with them for eternity because of me. I also knew that the few times we had been together had been torture for him, but I couldn't stop myself from pleasure, and he never refused when I asked for it. It was getting to the point where I figured he liked the pain of my rejection.

"I want a soul of my own! Well, I haven't told him that yet- and I'm not going to… I want you to help me acquire a soul Shika." his eyes went wide and I could tell again that he wanted to refuse, but he couldn't, he never could. He'd grumble something about it being troublesome and me just being a woman, but he'd never said no to me.

"I cant… how am I supposed to help you marry a human?"

"Well… I'm going to seduce one! I've got the perfect target too! All I have to do is get someone, to keep Sasuke busy if I'm ever on land! Please Shika?"

He raised a hand and rubbed the back of his neck- something I found endearing about him since a yes always followed -his face bored as he looked at me long and hard, his deep brown eyes looking from one of mine to the next. "Fine, I'll do it. As long as you don't tell my parents that Atlantis was my doing we'll be fine- besides, they were too advanced for this, and something would have gone wrong." I nodded with a coy smirk before pressing my lips to his and pulling our bodies together for a moment, allowing my breasts to swell against him so he could feel them.

"Thank you Shikamaru, I'll see you in a bit… I've got some things I need to do to get my soul." I let him go and swam off, knowing he was looking after me the way he always did. I loved him, true, and he loved me- of course -but I just couldn't settle for living the rest of eternity under water with him if I didn't have a soul, and once your married to a merman it's eternal, with a human it's only until they die. Like they say 'to death do us part' and when humans marry a mermaid, we steal souls within the first night nine times out of ten.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

When I got back to the cottage Naruto was wrapped up in the two blankets on his bed, only his nose sticking out from under the covers, a tuff of blonde hair showing as well.

I walked into the kitchen and got a drink of water before walking back over to the bedroom and looked at my bare bed then back over at Naruto's. His bed looked much warmer then mine, so with a slight sigh I walked over and lifted the blankets. He flinched because of the cold air that hit his bare chest as I slipped into the blankets.

I knew it was wrong, my feelings for him could be seen in many different ways to a lot of different people. But as far as everyone on Ireland knew, we were siblings. I had an odd feeling for him though, but I've never had a sibling so I didn't know if it was a sibling thing, I just knew I felt more for him then anyone else.

Naruto grabbed onto me and set his face on my shoulder, I had no idea why or how the hell he was cold, but when he set his feet on my calf I just about screamed it was so cold. I lay there paralyzed for a few minutes, waiting for either his feet to warm up or my leg to get used to the coldness without my entire leg cramping.

My mind was swimming with information that night, wondering just what I'd done to get stuck in Ireland, trying to kill the impossible once again. But why was it that every time I killed the impossible, someone would come up with something bigger and harder to kill? I mean, this time it was a freaking Irish lord- how was I supposed to kill one of those without killing everyone in the freaking village?

Of course, don't get me wrong, I love killing… aside from making sure that Naruto's safe it's my major joy in life. But that doesn't mean I want to kill everyone to get what I need to get this payoff. Naruto mumbled something that sounded like some kind of name to me, but I ignored it since it wasn't mine and let out a sigh as I looked up at the bedroom roof, it hurt that he knew little to nothing about me- well, meaningful things. It made me want to just curl into a ball at some points, but my feelings for him weren't right, how could they be? I wanted to do to him what only a man should do with a woman.

There was a large thunderous noise from the town again and I let out a sigh, knowing that these Irish often got pissed at each other and tried blowing stuff up. Just the week before they'd all set the rum on fire like it was a fireplace.

Naruto flinched when the next wave of screaming and explosions hit and his arms wrapped around my one arm reflexively. It hurt so much knowing I'd brought him here to get hurt and scared, my own selfishness won out over my need to keep him safe I guess. It's been three months and I know I couldn't have lived that long worrying about him, if he'd stolen enough that month for rent or if he was back on the streets. That was the one thing I promised him would never happen again, that neither of us would be on the streets again.

I lay there in his bed that night, loosing all track of time as my eyes once again counted the boards of the ceiling that were the never used attic floor. The rays of the early morning started to seep through the window beside my bed- to keep Naruto warmest, and I let out a sigh. I knew I'd have to get going to do more reconnaissance, but Naruto was clinging so tightly that I couldn't even shift when my free arm fell asleep without him threatening to wake up.

He was so peaceful when he slept that it was hard not to just look at him at most points of the night when I had nothing better to do, I'd even tried going out for runs and training most nights since I couldn't sleep.

The moment he let me go I slid out of his bed, making sure that only a little of the warm air could escape before I decided to go out and finish the task I'd started earlier of cutting firewood.

It was still summer, so it got pretty freaking hot out, sunrise brought little warmth with it though. It always took a while for the sun to actually heat the air and Ireland, something I always hated waiting for. I knew Naruto's routine down to a nutshell by then though. He'd wake up, take a leak, then he'd mumble 'I'm going to the river, be back in a bit.' Then nine times out of ten I'd follow fairly close to make sure no one bothered him.

Yes I knew I was controlling, yes I knew I was a jealous idiot, and yes I knew it was pathetic. But is protecting my best friend really something that's bad? He'd been attacked before like I'd been attacked the night before and I'd helped him… is that so absolutely horrible?

Anyhow, I was out behind our cottage when Naruto stumbled out with his bathing stuff: a towel and small bar of soap on a rope- because he lost it otherwise. I continued chopping the logs, deciding to just get it done and over with so I could get back to trying to kill my targets.

"Gaara! Help!" I dropped the axe in my head and turned my head to the side, seeing a half dressed Naruto running out of the trees. He looked distressed as he held the hem of his pants to keep them up, I distinctly remember a shirt being on him when he left. "Gaara… stop them, please! They-they know about him and are hurting him!"

I could see a bruise forming on Naruto's chest and on the side of his face but I knew something more important then just him getting punched happened, he was stronger then that I knew.

"Know about who?" I raised one of my non-existent eyebrows (It's a long story that involves Naruto being a dumb-ass)

"Ku-Kurama! They found me seeing him and-and they took him!"

I opened my mouth to ask again but he cut me off, his face slightly red and his hands clenching my shoulders. "He's my fox kit! They said he was a freak-fox and took him! Their going to try and drown him! You have to help me Gaara, there are too many of them!" Naruto didn't bother to hear me say no, it was just a fox, was he really that attached to it? He'd had a lot of kittens and dogs before, but they always run away from him.

He knew that I couldn't let him go get hurt though, so with a sigh I kicked into a run behind him to stop him from getting hurt or killed. The sounds of water slashing and Naruto yelling and crying directs me in the right direction. Naruto is held in the water away from who I'm supposing is drowning the kit that Naruto seems so fond of. He yelled at me to get the kit and I remained motionless until I saw him throw a pretty powerful punch before I moved into the freezing water and over to the man holding the kit under the water.

"Hey… let me do it." he looked back over his shoulder and I saw the devilish smirk on his face that accompanied his red eyes and black hair.

"Gladly." he handed the fox over and I pulled it out of the water. My eyes didn't even look down at it to see if it was alright as I punched the guy in the back of the head. He sunk into the water and I moved to the next guy, glaring as he tried pushing Naruto into the water, the fox still held in one arm.

I punched the guy holding Naruto under the water in the side, hearing a few ribs crack and break as a few others came rushing at me through the water. I punched him as Naruto popped out of the river and started coughing as he tried to clear his lungs. I felt him grab the fox from my hand and I poised to fight the oncoming men.

A few kicks and a couple punches were all it took until they were all down on the banks, just that one boy- the one I hit first -not being accounted for. I just shrugged and looked over at Naruto, seeing him clutching a small wet bundle of orange clutched to his chest.

"Care to explain?" I crossed my arms over my chest as I walked out of the river. I walked over to him, grabbing his right arm and forcing him to move it so I could see if it was cut badly since I had noticed the blood when I was still in the river. He looked at the cut and noticed it was pretty deep. "Explain later." I let my hand slip down to his and started pulling him back towards the cottage.

His fingers slipped through mine and I felt that horrid feeling of pain in my chest again of not being able to like him the way I did and have it be acceptable by anyone.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As soon as his arm was bandaged up Naruto started looking around the cottage for Kurama and I quietly excused myself. I had to find a girl, even if it was another lonely few hours of meaningless pleasure I had to find someone to allow me to wallow in the horrid pain I felt around Naruto.

My feet carried me through the burned part of town and passed the docks to the darker side of the town, where the harlots and seamen roamed the alley ways between buildings and prowled the pubs.

I walked into the usual establishment where I met the girl I usually did the deed with and my eyes looked around for her, knowing I had to keep my harsher killer side at bay. I tried my hardest not to growl when I see her with another guy, falling all over him, but her blonde hair was too hard to miss, it was too blonde for Ireland and more like a French blonde if that made sense.

I sauntered over and tapped her shoulder with a bit of a flourish to my wrist that I only seemed to have around her; tense but still light. She looked over and her lips pulled into more of a smile. "Gaara, go get a drink, I'll be there in a minute." I nodded my head a few times as I moved over and ordered the tallest cup of ale they had.

"So Gaara, what brings you here after only a month? Something wrong?" I shook my head as Alex asked for a small cup of ale. I shook my head to her question and she let out a sigh. "Same thing?" I nod my head and she gave a slight smile as she set her hand on my shoulder.

I felt her fingers slide up into my hair and she gripped my crimson hair in a tight fist before crushing our mouths together before I'd even taken a sip of ale. This wasn't how I worked with her, I would get three sheets to the wind, then she'd let me have my way with her. So what was going on with this situation. "You need to stop coming to me and confront whoever it is you have these feelings for Gaara." she let me got and grabbed her cup, dumping the liquid down her throat before asking for another.

"What makes you think I'm replacing someone with you?" Alex just giggled and I took a long swig as she continued. I waited until she stopped trying to laugh and just relaxed as the alcohol started to take effect.

"Oh Gaara… I'm not stupid! I know when a guy is pretending to be with someone else. And if it wasn't for your iron jaw I'm sure you would have screamed their name out, or at least murmured it by now." I looked over out of the corner of my eye and took another swig.

"Can I use your services, or not?" Alex nod her head and I stood up, being a light weight with alcohol was something I'd gotten used to, and the pubs tall cup of ale did it just enough for me to be able to have my time with Alex so I could stop wallowing in my own self pity for a while.

I followed her up to her room my steps becoming slightly crossed and my hand having to grip the handle tightly so I didn't fall back down the steps. She closed the door behind me and pushed me down on the uncomfortable straw mattress I'd grown accustomed to when I needed her. My mind was so hazy as she crawled overtop of me, her dress loose enough to allow my eyes to view her fairly small breasts until she fisted my hair and crashed our lips together.

Rough fabric and soft skin were all I felt in my finger tips as my numb fingers fiddled with the worn silk ribbon of the front of her dress. I could feel her rotating her hips already and knew that I was going to hell, if not for ever kill I'd made in my life and all the kills I'd make in the future, but for that one night I was going to be damned to an eternity.

"Gaara… tell me who it is you cant have." I looked up into her grey eyes and frowned, she knew I refused to talk when we were together, even if she asked all the questions I'd only give one worded answers. I flipped us over so she was under me, her wrists above her head and my lips connecting her hers again for a moment.

"No." my voice gruff from the ale as I continued relieving her of her clothing. I hated all that I did in that room, no matter when I did it, and that night was no exception.

Once I was done I paid Alex and left the tavern, no longer caring what I did as long as I got another dip in the river before heading back to the cottage or to kill my target. My mind was still foggy and I knew that going after my target wouldn't be smart, getting drunk in the morning wasn't smart. But it was something that my mind couldn't do without that morning so there was no option in my head.

I walked right passed the cottage, hearing Naruto talking quietly to the fox kit he must have found, knowing he wouldn't notice me as I vanished towards the lake just ten miles up the river.

I stumbled a few times and stopped once to get sick from the horrid knots in my stomach from what I'd done; the entire time I was with Alex I'd imagined Naruto instead, something that shouldn't have happened. I wanted to do with him what I was doing with her and it sickened me to the point where my nerves had just let loose.

Once the lake was in my sight I started to shed my clothes, not caring where they fell since I wasn't leaving the confines of the water until I was good and sober again. Since there were three times I refused to see Naruto: after copulating with a girl, after killing and when drunk, I had a bunch of time to waste until I was fine to see him back at the cottage.

I slipped into the water as soon as I got to the edge of the water, not taking too much time to look at the waterfall that stood proud at the mouth of the cove surrounded lake.

"_Softly we tremble tonight, _

_Picture perfect fading smiles are all that's left in site,_

_I said I'd never leave you'll never change_

_I'm not satisfied with where I'm at in life."_

I turned my head and my eyes went wide as I noticed the same girl from the night before in the water, just feet in front of me. Her breasts bare and her long hair flowing out behind her as she moved forward as if she was floating in the deep water.

I remained wary as I watched her approach, her singing had come to a stop and I noticed that there was some sort of fire in her eyes I'd never seen in another. "I suppose your not a sailor… care to tell me your name?" her voice was smooth and sultry as she got closer and closer, her body vanishing into the dark water I could barely see all of myself in.

"Are you not going to answer me?" I remained quiet as my arms kept a hold of the shore in the deep water as she swam up and pinned me to the spot as if tempting me to kiss her. "That's too bad… I bet your voice would be almost as sultry as mine." her black hair was heavy with the water, and her eyes were so deep and black it made me wonder why little light was reflected in the dark pools. I shrugged as best I could and tried to look passed her so I wasn't forced to look at her when she giggled.

"Really? After what you just did in the tavern your worried about a girl swimming with you in a lake? Is it inappropriate for a man and woman to share a large space of water together?" I shrugged again, the fact she knew what I'd just done hadn't even registered until she was pressing a kiss to my neck.

The feel of her breasts against my chest was something I noticed I hated right off the bat, the female body horrified me to be honest, too much in some places and not enough in others, weak and fragile instead of strong and durable. I was slightly rough, I knew that, Alex knew that. It was why I only went to see her about once a month because she didn't like rough.

I pushed her away and climbed out of the water, ignoring the shrill sound of her laughter as I walked to find my pants. As soon as I found them I pulled them on and looked back at the lake, seeing nothing of the black haired woman who'd been there just a moment before… right? She was there, wasn't she?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I let out a sigh as soon as I slipped under the water, it'd be harder to seduce him into loving me then I thought. Shikamaru and I had our work cut out for us, and I had to interrogate Sasuke about his mishap in the river earlier that day- him and that stupid fox had been rivals for a long time and it was time it stopped.

**AN:**

**Me: few! That was surprisingly hard! I don't know about the rest of you, but I find it hard to write from the perspective of my all-time favorite character. I know this is my 7th fic, but it's taken me this long to get a good idea for my first Naruto fic.**

**Shikamaru: why am I in love with your OC? And why is she such a bitch?**

**Me: because that's just how she is. Mermaids are cocky and evil… this fic shall prove it!**

**Naruto: why isn't Kurama in this chapter! You only mentioned him! Why didn't you describe him?**

**Kurama: stop worrying about it Naruto, I don't want to be a big part of this fiction, it's too troublesome.**

**Me: I promise it'll be fine and everything will happen when it needs to.**

**Shikamaru: you should probably mention that this Fic is labeled as M for the details you put into this fic that may not be appropriate for all ages, _but there will at NO time be any LEMON AT ALL!_**

**Me: yes, yes, no lemons. I don't do that.**

**Gaara: please review if you like it, and feel free to read Elizabeth's other stories if you have some time to kill.**

**Me: don't show-boat and push my stories on people Gaara. Let them read what they want.**

**Gaara: please review and have a good morning/afternoon/night.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2! Hoo-ra! Anyhow, I hope you enjoy. ^_^**

I couldn't believe how horrible my plan went. He was supposed to be drunk and looking for a girl to spent his time with, so why the hell didn't he stay in the lake? I let out a sigh and swam into my house, seeing Sasuke sitting on a chair by the table and dropping sea slugs into his mouth.

"Sasuke… what were you doing ashore today? You never go ashore, for anything." I swam past him with a sultry flick to my tail that I always had around him to make sure that he noticed how much of a matured mermaid I was.

"I had a bone to pick with a fox. It's not my fault that some kid and his friend got in the way." I clenched my fists as I tried not to get mad at him for attacking my target. He wasn't allowed to know I wanted a soul, he'd attack me if I told him. Sasuke was the closed minded kind of merman, he made storms rage and I had to soothe them, he'd taken several brides like Shikamaru but hadn't changed any of them. And because of our lineage everyone wanted to be with either of us- mainly Sakura and Ino were vying for his attention though.

"Ember, tell me, what did Shikamaru say last night?" I paused and turned back to Sasuke with the kindest smile I could muster. I wrapped my index finger around a lock of hair and curled it a few times as I sauntered back, knowing that Shikamaru would agree with anything I said.

"We've decided nothing new. We wont get married, but we'll keep our current relationship."

"What relationship? You have no relationship aside from his unrequited feelings!"

I narrowed my eyes at him as I crossed my arms over my breasts, and sat myself down with a flourish. My hair was floating half behind me for a moment as Sasuke swam over and placed his hands on the wall behind me, pinning me to my place. "Since when have you cared so much about other peoples feelings? We've been alive for three thousand years Sasuke. I think I can choose who I want to spend the rest of my life with." he moved one of his hands away from the wall and grabbed my chin, forcing me to look at him, his eyes still red as mine remained black and calm.

"You aren't allowed to keep acting like a child Ember! You need to take some responsibility with your life and as long as I'm the eldest male of this family you have to do what I-"

"Your not the oldest male. Don't tell me that in a mere five hundred years you've forgotten Itachi. And as long as he's alive I have to do nothing that you say. I know it sucks for you, but remember…" I removed his fingers from my chin and slowly pushed myself up, forcing him to straighten up himself. "…I've had my own agenda for a while Sasuke, and if you keep screwing it up, I'm going to have no choice but to leave just like him. And you don't really want to be all alone, do you?"

His eyes faded back to black quickly and I nod my head as I leaned forward and pressed a light kiss to his lips. "I'll be back in a bit, try getting out and having some fun with the other men if you want, I'm sure it'll be better then cooping yourself up in here."

It wasn't uncommon for siblings to marry and have children amongst our kind, it kept bloodlines pure- especially in our case. But because our parents were dead I was breaking the chain, I refused to marry and have children with my brother. We'd had fun centuries before, rolling around in the seaweed together, sharing steamy kisses on a reef, nothing too odd for two young mer-folk who were supposed to be married. But he cut himself off when our parents were killed by our elder brother, he never got over it.

"Ember! Wait up a minute." I stopped swimming and looked behind me to see Shikamaru swimming towards me, still looking as bored and lazy as ever.

"Hey Shika, what's up?"

"I just got yelled at by your brother when I was passing your place… care to tell me what your argument was about and why it involved and I quote 'go lay with her to get her head out of those freaking clouds, you lazy bastard'?" I couldn't help but smile at him as I gave him a hug, feeling my breasts press against his chest.

"I'm sorry Shika. We had another fight about Itachi and how Sasuke cant order me around. I know it's why he wants me married, so you can order me around and I'd have to listen to you." I felt his arms wrap around my waist as he hugged in return. "You really do love me. Don't you?"

"Yes. I do." I felt a kiss pressed to my neck and let out a sigh, he knew how to make me swoon and how to make my heart race. It was shameful how the lightest touch of his finger tips could make me shiver, but I had an agenda, I had to keep thinking about…

Shikamaru was the only thing on my mind, no matter how hard I tried not to think of him, I just kept going back to the slightly sharp teeth nipping my collar bone, his tail moving in tandem with mine. His arms squeezed tighter and I couldn't help but swoon as one of them moved to grip my hair, pulling my head back so my neck was at a better angle.

"Sh-Shika… why-why are you doing what he wants?" I knew my face was going red as we slowly started to sink into the darker waters that hid a lot of horror for both man and mer-folk, but I found myself caring very little. As long as he kept doing what he was doing I'd be fine with it.

"Because I want to. Mermen are horribly selfish Ember, and I'm tired of hiding that side of myself around you." the arm that was wrapped around my back slid around and I felt his palm flat against my stomach before sliding up to fondle my breasts. Without even thinking about it really I allowed my tail to dissolve into two human legs and I wrapped them around his waist, feeling the fine scales against my bare legs as my back finally hit the smooth rock bed of the crevasse we'd sunk into.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Pure shock, Naruto was sitting on his bed, with a small fox kit on his lap. But the shocking thing about the picture my only slightly hazy mind saw was the number of tails this fox kit had. I knew it must have been a trick of the light and probably just the kit swaying it's tail back and forth quicker then other foxes would, but I saw nine tails behind the thing. Wasn't that eight too many?

"Hi Gaara. Did you go for a swim? Odd, I thought you didn't like swimming." I shook my head and walked over to Naruto, staring down at his lap and the kit to make sure I wasn't hallucinating. I stretched my hand out and caught one of the tails, seeing the other eight still there and moving slightly.

"Naruto… care to-"

"Explain? Yes, I'll explain. This is Kurama. He's been my fox for about three weeks now. I found him all alone and close to death in the woods. And yes, he has nine tails. Please don't throw him out Gaara. That guy from today said he had some kind of bone to pick… I cant abandon him now can I?"

"Fine… but if he pees you clean it." I let out a sigh and fell onto my own bed, trying as hard as I could to not think of that girl who'd vanished in the lake. It'd be a good excuse if I could see her again, she'd probably get my mind off Naruto, maybe… hopefully.

"Thank you Gaara!" the next thing I knew Naruto had pounced on me and was pinning me to my bed, his face in the joint between neck and shoulder and his slightly smaller body covering mine. "You don't know how much this means to me!" god, I knew how much it meant to me. Didn't he know that I'd do anything to make and keep him happy? Wasn't he aware that I only cared for his happiness in life?

I pat his head a few times before he got off, that goofy smile on his face and his eyes so endearing. "Gaara… are you alright? Your eyes seem a little, lost." I nod my head a few times and internally curse myself for not waiting to come back until I was completely sober. "Did you go to the pub or something…" he bent at the waist and pressed his face into my hair and I froze, I hadn't put my hair into the water at the lake to even try and dispel the heavy perfume scent that was Alex. "…because you smell funny." he raised his head up again and I looked up at the whisker like scars on his face- an accident close to similar as my eyebrows, but people had done it intentionally to harm him.

"Y-yeah, I needed a drink." I tried to ignore the fact that his legs were on either side of my hips, that his hands were spread out over my pectorals. That his eyes were shining brightly down as me as he tried to figure out if I was lying or not. But most importantly I tried to ignore the fact I was becoming aroused by the feel of him and the look in his eyes.

"Gaara, your face is going red. Are you alright?" why the hell was he so clueless and caring at the same time? "You could be getting sick from being out last night without a shirt and the river this morning." he closed his eyes and bent at the waist again, putting his forehead against mine to check my temperature. Why the hell did he have to care so much. Sure, getting sick was a big deal but I'd made it through the Spanish flue twice, I don't think I'd get a small cold for no reason.

"You're warm, here, take your blanket back, I'll get the fire going again. The hotter you get now, the quicker it'll sweat out of you."

"Naruto… when someone has a fever you keep them cool- unless it's a cold sweat." my voice was just a mumble as he shifted, not seeming to notice that my lower region wasn't as flat as I'd wanted it to be at that moment. With a smile as clueless as ever Naruto hopped up and rushed over to his bed, throwing the window open and letting a cold gust of wind into the room, giving me the opportunity to raise my leg closest to him so he couldn't see anything.

"Alright then! You get stripped and I'll bring you some nice cold water!" I let out a sigh as he vanished from the room, he cared, yes… but he had a thick head. I wasn't about to strip, even if I had the Spanish flue again I wouldn't have stripped at that moment for an ice bath.

The moment Naruto came back, a happy Kurama trotting beside him I let out a sigh, seeing the bucket of water he set on the floor beside my bed before he dunked a cup into it and held it in front of me. "Naruto, I'm fine. If you want to do something, how about grab my money pouch and go to the market to get some carrots, those are really good with helping sick people." I had no idea if what I was saying was true or not, but it was Naruto, he'd go if I asked him and if he thought it'd make me better.

"Alright… where's your money pouch?"

"My pocket, just give me a sec-ah!" the fact he'd reached right into my pocket scared the shit out of me as he grabbed the money pouch and withdrew his hand.

"Relax Gaara, just lay down and do your meditation thing. I'll be back in a jiffy!" Naruto skipped out of the room, Kurama still trotting at his side. I let out a sigh and ran a hand through my hair, wondering in the back of my head how long it'd take Naruto to buy a few carrots before I realized I should have just asked him to steal them- it would have saved me the embarrassment of his hand in my pocket.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I was healthy again by Naruto's standards and so I let out a sigh as I stood on the wall, overlooking the entirety of the town at night. The lords house was filled with lights that'd be going off any moment: my targets all lay in nice warm beds inside that huge house.

I pulled the fairly loose hood up over my red hair and checked to make sure I had both my swords on hand. I was to kill every person of nobility in that castle but the youngest son: a ten year old who had more brains then the rest of them combined who'd sent the request to the English king to have his family assassinated.

How the king knew of me I'm not sure, but my title was known throughout the world and over again: Jinjuriki of the sand. I'd gotten the name thanks to the bit of sand I sprinkled at first to cover my tracks, the name just stuck.

As soon as the top floor lights started going out I stood up straight on the fairly thin, high wall and started running. A few lights on the lower floor would remain on for an extra two hours, but none of my targets were downstairs, they all had bedtimes so they could wake up early and refreshed. Too bad they'd never wake again.

I jumped off the wall and gripped the two jutting stones in the side of the castle as my feet felt for a holding spot that would work until the closest window's light went out; the young boy I was to keep alive.

I'd covered my hair in mud to hide it's color, and smudged mud over most of my face to make my skin look darker, it was horrible, but it also allowed me to hide in the shadows easier and prohibited people from recognizing me.

As soon as the light went out I climbed the last five feet and pulled myself into the room, falling silently on the floor with my soft leather shoes. "Hello? Who's there?" I ignored the sound as I walked over to the wardrobe and opened it, my body nothing but a shadow to the room as the young boy lit and candle and looked at me with scared eyes. "A-are you here to do it then?"

I nod my head once to him and pressed my pointer finger against my lips before pointing it into the wardrobe. He had to play the scared child, did he not? He nod his head a few times in response and rushed into the wardrobe. "Thank you sir. This means a lot to the people." I shut the door in his face, not really caring why the hell I was killing, as long as I got paid.

I decided to leave through the window again, scaling the wall again to get to the lords room directly. I slid in through the window, the small lock was nothing too hard to get through, my dagger being dragged up the seam silently was enough to lift the predictive hook. My feet were silent as I slunk towards the bed, both lord and lady sleeping soundly.

I pulled my two swords out, but there was nothing I could do about the slight 'shing' sound that they made as I pulled each of them out of their scabbards. The lord stirred slightly but did not wake, and the lady noticed nothing.

The tip of the blade poised over the lords throat I did the same with the lady, counting down from three in my head before pushing down and watching as the blades easily slid through their throats and into the bed. Both swords stopped once the tips hit the wood frame of the bed and I watched as eyes opened in fear but were unable to scream as I twisted the swords as I pulled them back out again.

I had an hour until the night guards came to the room for a check, and that meant I had an hour to finish everyone else on the list off. As soon as I was positive that they were dead I sheathed my bloodied swords on my belt again and moved back to the window, sprinkling a bit of sand over their faces so they knew who killed the lord and lady.

Each kill was different, I'd slit one couples throats, I'd decapitated others, or I'd carved their hearts out. I was just about done when I heard the sounds of the guards yelling that the lord and lady had been murdered… the one night I decide to actually do it they show up early… just my luck.

As my last victims eyes open because of the yelling I grip his hair and slash his throat, unceremoniously and messily. I get this mans blood on myself and the gurgling scream he gave off was loud enough to draw attention. I vetoed the sand and just dashed for the window, jumping out and swan diving towards the harshly cold water of the Atlantic.

As soon as my body hit the water I contracted into a ball, the pain of such cold water was normally enough to kill people itself, not to mention the rising pressure and the fact I was still sinking despite the large breath I'd taken before contact.

I finally opened my arms and spread my legs, kicking for the surface before a shark or other manner of sea creature could get me, hoping I wasn't within arrow range of the castle as I swam, the mud I'd put on my face and in my hair washed out by the cold water.

"Well… looks like you came back for me Red." I turned my head to the side as the voice hit my ears the second I was above water and I noticed the same black haired girl from the lake, and the night the pirate ship sunk.

I opened my mouth to speak but was cut off when her arms wrapped around my neck and her lips collided with mine. It was a harsh, rough kiss and I couldn't help but get into it as I kept kicking my legs to stay up. The feel of her breasts could be felt through the fairly heavy shirt I was wearing, the peaks pressing like beads into my skin as she clung to me.

I had no idea who she was, or if she was a harlot or not, all I knew was that whatever the hell she was doing was making me worry less and less about getting back to Naruto to tell him I was fine and that the mission was a success. Her legs wrapped around my waist and I leaned back slightly, kicking my legs so we'd end up on the shore.

Every sound she made had my mind growing all the foggier, the feel of her bare flesh was cold and tight under my finger tips and I knew that something was happening that normally wouldn't. My mind was going thanks to the fact Naruto was around me and I couldn't have him, but something about the spell I'd been put under by this woman was harsh to think about.

I pulled my mouth away from her's to breathe and she just attached her own mouth to my neck, sucking and biting with… slightly sharp teeth? The thought was immediately pushed from my mind as she rolled her hips and all thought process I had was demolished.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I opened up my eyes with a splitting headache and having little memory of the night before. I reached my hand up and ran it through my red hair, I could feel something wet under me and also slightly grainy. I knew she was gone, she'd left shortly after I closed my eyes, refusing to believe that I'd done something so stupid with the girl, but it had been mind blowing, I knew that.

It was still dark, probably just after midnight if I had to guess. I let out a sigh and sat myself up, looking out at the black water and seeing that I was laying on the beach with my pants up but not fastened, my shirt once again gone and what looked like a bite mark on my right pectoral. I glared at the spot for a moment before grabbing the hem of my pants and I stood up. My knees were still a little wobbly as I stretched, not caring that my pants slid down a bit again before I pulled them up and fastened them and started walking back towards the cottage.

I walked through the front door and noticed that the fire in our shared room was low so I grabbed a few logs from the hearth of the main fire and brought them in with me, tossing one of them into the fire and setting the other down as I fell on my bed, no blanket and content with the temperature of the room.

"What took you so long? The towns been in an uproar because of what you did."

"Good thing they don't know it was me then." I put my arms behind my head and started my nightly routine of counting the ceiling boards.

"I was worried about you! How can you just act like nothing happened? didn't you hear everyone yelling that there was a killer? What are we going to do if they figure out it was you Gaara?"

"I did everyone a favor with this job Naruto. That lord was a tyrant who raped women for no reason. We'll all be better off without him around. Besides, I'm sure his son will be fine running the place." I let out a sigh and closed my eyes, wanting the conversation to be over.

"You killed almost everyone Gaara! How can you sit there like it's nothing! How many of those lives did you have to take? How many Gaara?"

"All of them Naruto! I kill, it's what I do. You know I kill and you know I like it! I'm not going to suddenly change because you don't think it's moral. I kill people for money, and you steal from people. It's how we've lived since we were kids." I sat up and turned to him with a glare, no longer caring what he thought of me. It was tearing me up inside to not be able to be with him the way I wanted.

I didn't know why I yelled at him, but the fact that I did just pissed me off more. I felt horrible seeing his eyes fill with tears and that hurt look cross his face. "I'll be back eventually… I've got some stuff I need to do." I stood up again and grabbed a shirt, pulling it over my head as he turned away from me.

I walked out of the house and ground my teeth together, not caring that my canines were longer then normal peoples and that it was slowly wearing them down. I stuffed my hands into my pockets and started walking towards the river, completely fine with just laying down in the dew covered grass and watching the trees above the bank let their branches sway in the late night breeze.

I lay myself out ten feet from the river and sighed as I put my arms behind my head again to try and relax a bit, wondering why the hell I was being such a harlot myself. And yelling at Naruto, I don't even know why the hell I did that… why did I do that?

I let out yet another sigh and sat up, arms poised across my knees and my eyes transfixed on the water ahead of me as the sounds of leaves rustling behind me caught my attention. For a moment I thought it was Naruto, but the foot falls were too precise and far apart. I squinted my eyes as the person walked up to my left side and sat down, mirroring my position.

My eyes looked over at the man and I looked at him for a moment, not believing that I was seeing what could have been an older version of myself with what looked like add-ons. In the mop of slightly longer red hair I could see the tips of two horns that could have been devil horns. My eyes followed the curve of his back and noticed two black wings on his back next, about the size of a bear paw each. My eyes followed the curve of his back still and noticed the tail curving up behind him, looking so much like a devil that for a moment I felt my heart pounding.

"I'm not a devil you stupid child. How the hell did I create such stupid offspring. I'm an incubus you dolt." my wide eyes turned into glares and I opened my mouth to yell at the freaky man as I moved to stand up though he just cut me off again. "Don't even bother yelling at me. So shut up and sit your ass down and listen to what I've got to say. It's not like it was easy to find you after all."

I did as he requested and sat back down, a glare on my face as I turned so I was facing the odd man who looked like me with hard eyes that held some sort of fire that I hadn't seen in anyone before.

"My name is of no importance to you. All you need to know is I am an incubus, and I am your father. You've been wondering why your more of a hormonal teenager and this is why. You've inherited my gene and the thing you cherish most has turned into an object of desire rather then an object to protect.

"Your half incubus, therefore you will be pursued by many and all. You will have a naturally dominant personality and if you don't get the object of your desire soon you'll most likely go mad with want until you hurt that person."

I glared at the man, not knowing what the hell he was talking about. I opened my mouth to ask him again but stopped when he stood up and stuffed his hands into the pockets of his leather trousers, the vest he was wearing was some sort of fur covered pelt that his wings were coming out of.

"Hey. Aren't you going to answer my questions?"

"I already have. What other questions could you have? And if your going to ask 'why I killed your mother, don't. I killed her because she was dying anyways. Women impregnated by a full incubus die after the child is born. But the same thing doesn't happen to that child. You will have at least one son when you decide to and if you don't want kids your seed will not be fertile. Understand?"

"No. that just raises more questions! Your not allowed to leave until you tell me all this stuff!"

"You'll figure it out eventually, just don't want kids and you wont have them. The woman who bares your children will not be in danger of dying. And yes, you'll crave copulation until you get who you want."

"Fine. Since your so keen on getting out of here, answer one more question: does this person I want copulation with… does it have to be a woman?" I looked up at him and saw the slight sneer on his face. Of course I knew it was a bad thing to crave the touch of a man, to want to see the pale tight flesh of a stomach covered in abs and strong pectorals.

"Yes, yes it does." without much more of anything he turned away from me and I ground my teeth together, wanting to know who the hell he thought he was. Some random freak showing up and telling me what to think and who to do.

I squinted my eyes, nothing that person had told me would make a difference in my life. I still wanted to be with Naruto in a different sense then I was and I was still pissed at myself for getting upset with him and shouting.

"You know… your very lucky to have had one of those meet with you and not violate you. It's kind of what they do." I jerked my head to the side and noticed the girl again, her long hair down to about her knees as she stood in the moonlight in a light dress that did little to hide her perked breasts or voluptuous hips. I watched as she walked over and knelt down beside me. "Most people get the wrong impression when an incubus comes to visit… though I suppose their thing is molesting woman in their sleep, not awake and aware men."

"And you saw what I just saw?"

"As clear as the stars in the sky."

"What are you doing here? Thought you were done with me."

"No, I went home to get a dress so I wouldn't be cold. Midnight dips in the ocean and lakes is just kind of my thing. But what are you doing out here?" the sound of her voice made me shiver and I stretched my neck out slightly to press a kiss to her skin when she moved away slightly. "I have to go… I just came back to see if you were alright. Maybe we'll meet again." she gave me the most seductive smirk I'd ever seen as she stood up and walked away, a sway to her hips that I'd only seen some woman have. It wasn't the same, nothing but release when she was around, but that release was better then the horrid feeling around Naruto, wasn't it?

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I let out a sigh as I slipped back into the water, having pulled the annoying dress off of my body. It felt so horrible to be confined in a dress that it made me want to shudder in disgust.

I noticed Shikamaru floating a little ways off a scowl on his face as he looked up through the clear water. "Hi Shika… what're you doing here?"

"Checking on you. I don't really trust humans all that much." I smirked and pressed a kiss to his cheek as I grabbed his hand and started swimming in the fairly far off direction of Atlantis.

"Well that's very you Shika. But I'm fine. I can take care of myself."

"How many times are you going to do it with him? How many times am I going to have to float off to the side listening to the sound that's breaking me down slowly and painfully?" I looked at Shikamaru for a moment and wondered; just when did he become so sensitive to what I did and who I did it with.

"Shika… what's going on? Usually your more detached and-"

"I don't want to be detached. I've had to swim for days to let out all the steam that's build up inside from watching you flit around and toy with whoever you want. Nine times out of ten I'm here and I'm asking for it Ember. How is that fair?"

"It's not. But I don't like being fair. I like having fun. And fun is what I'm having while I work on getting myself a soul. I don't really care if you like it or not, but I do. I don't care who I hurt and how I hurt them, I just like knowing that I have a friend who cares about me as more then just 'the youngest Uchiha' it's flattering knowing you like me, but I don't want to be tied to one person."

"I don't just like you Ember. And if you don't get your head on straight, after three thousand years, your going to loose something you don't want to. I'll see you in a while. I have to go sink another island." Shikamaru turned away from me and swam off, his speed much quicker then my own since he was actually trying to swim.

I let out a sigh and allowed my head to drop, wondering just how hard it was going to be to get everything I wanted. I clenched my fists into tight balls and head for the reef to hang out with the others, wondering just what they would think of my situation- without telling them of wanting to acquire a soul of course.

"Ember! Where have you been? We heard something about the main land… is that true?" Sakura waved in a large arch before flicking her tail and swimming towards me, her teeth not shark sharp like mine, just her canines were sharp as she smiled.

"Of course… I went for a walk, is that so odd?" all the girls giggled and it made me roll my eyes, how fucking stupid were they? They giggle about everything and it's absolutely annoying, to the point where I don't know how guys put up with it.

"Anyhow, we were thinking about going out hunting. There is a whale pod that's passing by shortly and I'm sure a few of them will be delicious!" I shook my head as I reached behind me and pulled my hair over my shoulder to braid it in a long rope.

I didn't even get started on my hair before both Sakura and Ino started fighting over it. "Sakura your braids suck." the pink haired mermaid let my hair go and Ino started to braid away, making it look more intricate then I needed. "And no, I'm going out shark hunting again."

"Awe… that's no fair Ember, none of us stand a chance against sharks… are you going to bring Sasuke with you though? I'm sure he'd like the sport of it."

"No, we're not seeing eye to eye right about now to be honest. But one of you should ask him to go whale hunting… I'm sure he'd love to get a request." Sakura and Ino instantly swam towards my house, Ino leaving my hair have braided and it only took a few shakes for it to loosen completely again.

"Hinata, mind doing my hair in a simple braid?" Hinata nod her head and swam over so I she was sitting behind me. I let out a sigh of relief as she started running her hands though my hair before pulling her comb off of the reef and started running that through my hair.

"So Hinata, how are things with you and your cousin?"

"I don't know, you see Neji more then I do. He's just interested in becoming the next head of our blood line, and of course creating the perfect storm."

"Heh, if someone could make a better storm then Shikamaru I'd pay them money to see it." my mind went back to that night where Shikamaru had sunk Atlantis, I'd sung until my throat went raw and the storm was still raging harsher then ever.

I felt Hintata finish with my hair and pat my shoulders. "He loved you… you've just got to see it yourself and not get blinded by your own greed again Ember."

"Again?"

"Yes, about a hundred years ago… do you remember that time?" truth be told, I'd forgotten about that completely.

The sky had been filled with raging storm clouds because of both Shikamaru and Sasuke fighting over my future and what to do now that Itachi was gone. I'd eaten so many people that night, I'd gorged myself on human hearts, nothing but the hearts.

"Never mind that Hinata. It was a bad time for me and people paid for it. I've forgotten about it and you should do the same." I got off the reef and turned to her, giving a slight wave before heading for the drop off. "I'll see you later Hinata."

The drop off was a great place for mer-folk to swim if they were looking for a good kill. And a lot of strong sea creatures swam there to try and catch the younger, weaker mer-folk who went out without an elder with them who could take down such an animal.

Our generation was an odd one though, we looked younger then we were, and we were much stronger. But only a few choice of us had this odd ability thanks to the humans we devoured, yet it only seemed to work with the humans we devoured completely.

I could see several sharks all lurking about, but none big enough to give me the necklace of teeth I wanted. My eyes scanned the deep water and noticed a large shark about a hundred feet under me.

With a smirk on my face and my nails sharp I flicked my tail so I'd head down. I allowed my tail to dissolve into the two human legs I was starting to growl accustomed to and started floundering in front of the shark. The moment I noticed the shark take interest I poised to fight, not about to find myself off guard as it flicked it's tail to get to me quicker.

I dodged it's mouth and started the delicate dance that would in the end get me a shark tooth necklace- something I hadn't managed to do yet since killing a shark was symbolic and reserved for only the strongest of mer-folk.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

"Gaara! I know I got upset with you, but that is by no means reason enough to vanish for a week! Kurama and I were worried about you! I was about to go looking for you through the freaking forest you stupid giant idiot!" Naruto rushed out of out cottage and wrapped his arms around my shoulders.

I'd spent the week hanging out by the lake, trying to figure out when the next ship was going back into London so I could get my pay for the family I'd all but killed off. The girl had come back again and again, but I still didn't know her name, but she didn't know mine either so I guess I couldn't really argue too much. I'd noticed a new necklace around her neck, falling slightly low, just over her breasts: shark teeth, something I thought only men did down by the Caribbean sea.

"I'm fine, your fine… so just forget it." It'd taken a while to get over the fact that Naruto and I just couldn't be together, even with what that incubus guy claiming to be my father it didn't make any sense what to ever. We were both males, it was wrong on every level, wasn't it?

God I asked a bunch of questions. I asked a bunch when I was gone for the week too, the girl had told me so much of all over the world. She'd done a lot more traveling then even me and Naruto. We're we've stuck to Europe and the Caribbean she'd gone to Asia, and Italy, some places I'd never even heard of.

"But Gaara, where were you? How could you have been gone for so long? Did you go back to England without me or something?" I shook my head and let out a slight sigh as I rubbed the back of my neck. I knew I shouldn't tell him what I had really been doing, but was it right to not tell him?

"I was just about Naruto, it's fine. Not like either of us died or anything. And no I didn't head back to England yet. Our boat's leaving tonight at midnight. I got us a free ride on a ship, all we've gotta do is throw in a bit of labor until we get to England." Naruto nod his head and hopped out of the rickety kitchen chair.

"Alright! I'll go get packed then! Just one bag, I know the drill!" I nod my head a few times as I stuffed my hands into my pockets and thought for a moment about who to talk to about selling the cottage, sure we'd made it ourselves, but it'd give us some more money and I never planned on coming back to this place, not if I could help it.

"Gaara… are you mad at me? A-about the fight that we had the day you left?" I shook my head as I started to debate more internally on if I was going to have the cottage sold or not.

"No Naruto, it's not about the fight. It's just about… stuff." I couldn't tell him, I knew I couldn't. The last bit of what my father told me was crap, I knew that… I just couldn't bring myself to tell Naruto how I felt because it wasn't right for two men to be together. Being with the girl for the week was nice though, I liked it. It might have just been the pleasure, but it felt horridly wonderful to have soft skin under me and to feel her body was so wonderful that I was positive that I could handle living with Naruto again.

My things never really unpacked themselves, but I noticed as I walked into the room to grab my bag and pack up my blankets that my bed was covered in blankets and the two pillows. Naruto was curled up in a ball, my red colored pillow hugged to his face. "What are you doing?" Naruto let the pillow go and smiled up at me with a slight blush on his cheeks and I realized that no girl could ever fill where he'd wormed his way into.

Naruto set my pillow down and pushed the blankets off of his legs with the same smile in place as Kurama snuck out of the blankets at the foot of the bed. "Oh… uh, I was just making sure that Kurama… didn't pee in your bed like you'd warned me against."

I walked over with a slight smirk on my face, unable to stop myself as I bent down and sniffed the pillow myself to play along. "It doesn't smell like a fox at all… smells kinda like you." I looked from the pillow to him and saw the blush, deciding right away that I'd gone too far in that moment and stood up again.

"If you looked for me, I'm sure you would've found me. You couldn't have missed me that much Naruto."

"I looked everywhere I could think of! You weren't anywhere! I checked from the docks to the middle of the forest Gaara! I swam the rivers and dove in the lakes to find you! And I couldn't! I thought you might have been drowned in the ocean!" the look in his eyes made me shiver and I turned back towards the door to head back to the kitchen.

"I'm going to go make some food. Come to the kitchen when you're done." I didn't bother to see if he nodded or not, just as long as he didn't get under my skin any further I'd be fine.

There were three knocks on the door and I raised a nonexistent eyebrow again as I walked towards the door, gripping the hilt of my dagger in my left hand incase I needed it.

My eyes widened as I saw the girl standing there, her smile wide and eyes kind. "Hi, I just realized, I never told you my name… so I followed you. It's Ember by the way- uh, my name. Odd I know, but I was kinda born with it." Ember stepped forward and I felt her press a kiss to my lips, not something I was unused to after the week I'd spent with her, but something I wasn't expecting to have happen in my doorway with Naruto just in the other room.

I felt like I was cheating on him, I knew I wasn't that our emotional connection was strictly that of brothers.

"Gaara." my voice was quiet as I replied, and pressed a light kiss to her cheek in return, wondering why I'd allowed this person to grow close enough to show pleasantries towards them. "Do you want to come in?" Ember gave me a smile but shook her head.

"No, I cant. My brother wants me back home for a while. Though I hear your leaving, do you know where to, or how long for?" I shook my head, not knowing if I should tell her I planned on never coming back, even if I had the opportunity to. "Oh, well, you know where to find me if you ever do come back." she gave a wink and pressed another kiss to my lips before turning her back on me and started walking back towards the town.

I spent a few moment's making food for Naruto and I when a heavier knock came on the door and my eyes immediately darted for my sword, seeing it beside the door where I'd left it.

"Coming!" my nerves were shivering as I walked towards the door. The last time I'd heard a knock like that bad things had happened; mainly I'd been pulled from my London flat after midnight by palace guards and thrown down before the king with an 'opportunity' that I 'couldn't pass up' so he'd basically drafted me as his personal assassin.

I opened the door again, my shoulder leaning against the wall and just my head sticking out so they couldn't see inside. As I looked at the tall men all dressed in dark clothing I narrowed my eyes, listening as Naruto came out of the bedroom.

I held my hand out in a motion for him to stop, and once his feet stopped moving I flicked the hand they couldn't see that I'd used to stop him to motion him to go back into the bedroom, knowing he'd hide by reflex.

"Spill it." I had no time or patience to deal with something as trivial as exchanging pleasantries.

"We're here on behalf of our lord and the English King. The lord would like a private meeting with the Jinjuriki of the sand. And we were told we could find him here."

"Odd… I know no such person. Sorry, but you've obviously got the wrong house." I tried closing the door but a heavy boot stopped the door just an inch short of being able to set the heavy wood block into place.

"Just get him to the castle as soon as you can." I ground my teeth together, I was an assassin for lowlifes and big spenders. I would not spend my time entertaining a spoiled brat who'd ordered his family dead for a few gold coins, not when my boat was leaving at midnight.

"Gaara… can I come out now?" I opened the panel in the wall and pulled Naruto out of the small space where he was clutching Kurama. "What was that all about?"

"They want me back at the castle… well, they want the Jinjuriki." Naruto looked worried but I had an idea. Nightfall was coming and that meant shadows, I loved nighttime for all the wonderful pockets of darkness. "I'm going to leave you here Naruto, and I'll give you the ships name. Get on it and I'll meet you."

"But what if you don't meet me on the ship?" his deep blue eyes made me want to shiver because of how horrible he looked. I just shook my head and turned back towards the kitchen.

"Then you'll sail back to England without me. You know where my money will be for this job. Just do yourself a favor and don't go right away, give it a week or two." I had a set up with a person who always picked up my money for me, he'd go to the meeting with the king and take the money and make the jobs that I'd do. Then he'd get the money and hide in in the flooring of Gaara and Naruto's least used apartment.

"Where are you going?"

"I have to go blackmail someone. I'll meet you on the ship." I grabbed my money pouch and tossed it in his direction, smirking as he caught it. "I'll be seeing you Naruto."

"Yeah, you better be." I refused to look back at the cottage as I walked. There was one section of people in the town that could work for the purposes that I needed them for. I had my bow and quiver across my back and my swords in my belt as I walked down the streets, looking like a regular Joe who was just heading out to hunt.

My spirits picked up once I got into the rougher part of the town. I thrived in this place, especially if I needed people to black mail. I slipped into the bar and bypassed Alex, not caring that a slightly hurt look crossed her face as I walked right up to the one guy I'd based my 'character' off of.

I tapped the girls shoulder and motioned for her to get lost before I sat down across from the guy I'd seen every time I'd come into the pub. "Oi… what was that all about?"

"I need you to do me a favor Konohamaru." the younger boy raised an eyebrow and scoffed. He made a motion to move and I tossed out a small pouch of silver coins, allowing them to spill out onto the table. "I didn't say I wasn't willing to pay." with a slightly glazed look in his eyes Konohamaru sat back down and took the pouch, stuffing the spilled coins back into it before slipping it into his pocket.

"Alright. What do you need?"

"For you to go to the castle tonight as the Jinjuriki. You wont have to do much, just stand there and nod your head."

"Why me?"

"Because you look most like him. If you cant do it, give me back my money and I'll find someone who can." I held out my hand for the pouch a glare on my face before I got a hand shake.

"Deal. When do you need me there?"

"Now, wear something dark and don't show your face if you can help it. Keep your accent and don't try and get rid of it." Konohamaru nod his head and I stood up to go get into position inside the castle before he'd show up.

The minute Konohamaru walked into the room bows and arrows went up and mine went up to. I'd managed to secure myself to the ceiling with the ropes that were already there, right beside one of the large windows for an easy escape if I needed it.

"So, Jinjuriki… I thank you for your services. But I'd like to know what your next move is. Where are you going?"

"No where." I ground my teeth as he answered, he wasn't supposed to answer any questions. To the point where I wanted to put an arrow through his head, I decided that if he did answer another question I would.

"Alright, so what would you think of becoming my own personal bodyguard?" I hung from the ceiling, hidden in the harsh shadows that the many candles created, none of their light being able to reach me.

Konohamaru remained silent and I was about to let out a sigh until his voice pierced the silence. "I cant answer that right now, but I'll say that I'm certainly going to think-" his voice stopped as my arrow pierced his head. I saw the blood spatter across the ground in front of him and I watched as the guards pointed their arrows to the ceiling, none towards me though.

I set my bow back on my back and ground my teeth together as I pulled myself out of the hanging ropes and gripped the top of the curtains. They started running over when they saw the curtain move, but I just gripped the thick jagged bricks on the outside of the building.

Arms and legs moved as fast as they could as I made it to the top of the tower to make another jump into the ocean- they obviously didn't think about assassinations when they built the castle on the top of a cliff above an ocean.

It was cold again, so fucking cold again. I opened my body much sooner then I did before and swam towards the surface, only knowing it was the surface because I wasn't fighting to rise.

The ship was a little far away and it looked like everyone was rushing around to get ready for cast off. "Naruto!" my voice carried out as Naruto rushed passed and stopped. I saw him squint out before he waved above his head.

"Gaara! You jack-ass we're leaving!"

"Then drop a fucking line!" Naruto nod his head and dropped a thick spool of rope into the water, tying the end off to the safety line on the side of the ship before starting to rush around the ship again. I gripped the rope and started to pull myself up, wrapping my leg around the rope and clasping the rope in my hands as I pulled myself up.

"Oi! Who're y-oh. What took you so long Gaara? We were about to leave without you." I ground my teeth together as the ship's captain smirked down at me as I kept climbing the last ten feet.

I kept quiet as I pulled myself up, not bothering to say anything to the ship captain who'd been kind enough to not draft Naruto and I for more then until he docked in London. It might have had something to do with the fact that I'd offered to get rid of his first mate for him, but we had to do much less then everyone else.

Once I was on the deck I rolled onto my back and let out a sigh before I had to pull the rope up. Heading back to England, I was so happy about that one little fact. I was just happy that I'd be back home before I knew it a small little boat ride and I'd be there.

**AN:**

**Me: wow… chapter two is done.**

**Shikamaru: how far are you going with this M rated stuff Elizabeth?**

**Me: there is going to be much more detail in deaths and more of what Gaara actually see's when he's performing a hit.**

**Naruto: are you going to put me and Gaara together? Because I'm confused about that! I'd be fine with it and everything, but you're just making it really confusing right now.**

**Me: it's supposed to be confusing Naruto (mainly because I don't know yet) but I'll figure it out eventually.**

**Axel: so… you're giving them the hardcore stuff? What happened to this shit when you were writing either of the fanfics for me and Roxas?**

**Me: I've told you before Axel, Gaara is my ALL TIME FAVORITE character. So I will have a better story line. I've been working on this storyline for a long time and I'm not about to make this half-assed because of it.**

**Shikamaru: Axel's pissing you off, isn't he?**

**Me: yes.**

**Shikamaru: alright, you go put him into the time-out corner and I'll introduce Gaara.**

**Me: you just want my job.**

**Shikamaru: yes, but I'm being kind about it. So you go along and here's Gaara.**

**Gaara: please review, we'd all love to hear what you think of this fanfic.**


	3. Chapter 3

**How to Save a Life.**

**Chapter 3! Oh yeah… I'm awesome! _ just kidding! But I am slightly egotistical :P**

I could tell he didn't like sea travel, his face was green and he kept himself below deck as much as possible as I swam behind the ship or under it. Shikamaru was beside me most of the time, grumbling about me being fickle and an annoying girl.

"Shika, you need to think of it differently! We're going back to London, isn't that something you think would be fun?"

"No, I hate the main land, I hate land in general. And your making me impersonate Sasuke."

"No, you just have to say you're my brother."

"Basically impersonating Sasuke. I honestly don't know why I'm helping you get a soul. You're doing nothing but making me feel like shit. And you don't even care."

I looked over at him, seeing the tight lines of his face. I didn't feel bad for him at all, he was swimming with me to London, he was with me. Wasn't that enough, better yet, why is it suddenly not enough after three thousand years of just be around me? "Your right Shika. I don't care right now, and I shouldn't have to care right now. My mind is set on one goal and I'm not going to stop until I get it."

"You're not going to though, and if you do you're going to be too enthralled with the surface to ever come back." I swam ahead a bit and flipped over so I could see the port hole that showed the room where Gaara spent most of his time, sick.

He was still sitting down, his hands gripping his hair and his head ducked down between his legs. I watched with a glare as the blonde came bouncing into the room and Gaara raised his head and put on a fake smile as he rubbed his hands through his hair and over the back of his neck.

I could tell that he was faking his happiness at least a little, but there was just some sort of spark in his eyes that I noticed he didn't have around me.

It pissed me off.

Gaara was supposed to be mine, I wasn't supposed to have to fight against someone for his heart, and let alone a guy? That was just wrong! His heart had to be mine and it had to be mine soon, because I had to get my soul if Ireland wanted to stay a country and not just a series of mountaintop peaks coming out of the water.

I turned my head in Shika's direction and noticed he was watching the same scene as I was with a smirk on his face and his eyes closed before he dove down, swimming much deeper then he needed too to refrain from being seen. My hand clasped around my shark tooth necklace and the sharp points dug into my skin. I could not have gotten that necklace without being a strong mermaid, I could not have gotten that necklace if I didn't have determination. I'd fought the fucking shark for three hours, killing it slowly yet as quickly as I could.

He was just being stubborn, I knew that. Shikamaru would like me even more once I had a soul for him to love as well as just my smoldering good looks. Shikamaru was the kind of merman that had to have what he wanted, and if he couldn't he'd just get something to occupy his time until what he wanted eventually came to him. It just hadn't happened with me yet.

Darkness enveloped me as I dove after Shikamaru to find out what the hell his deal was. I wanted to know why he was being so moody all of a sudden, couldn't he just get another surface girl to fall in love with him until I had what I wanted?

"Shika! Shika, wait a minute, will you?"

I watched as he stopped and turned towards me again. "What? Are you finally taking interest in me? Do I have to lash out to get your to pay attention to me Ember? If I keep ignoring you, will you finally break your stupid, annoying, unrealistic, idealistic outlook on the world?"

"No. You can't get me just because you want it Shika. I'm not those stupid surface girls who will just flock to you. Now tell me why it's suddenly so different?"

"It's been exactly two thousand nine hundred and fifty years since I first asked you to marry me. And I'm tired of waiting. You have to decide right now Ember; be with me wherever you want to be, or get a stupid soul form a human who doesn't have one!"

"You know my decision Shika. Asking me is pointless."

"No, asking you is just making sure that I'm not going to make the wrong decision. I'll be seeing you around Ember." he turned away from me again and for a second my heart stopped, was he really walking away from me?

"Shika! Y-your not leaving, f-for good… are you?"

"Yes, I am." I felt my heart sink in my chest as he kept swimming, his hair tied in the same high ponytail that I'd seen every day of my life.

"Oh… alright." I stopped swimming as he vanished, his grey tail standing out for a few hundred feet before being enveloped by the darkness of the deep water.

It was good, he wouldn't be slowing me down and wouldn't be on my case about me getting my soul. I was perfectly fine on my own, I could fend for myself with ease and I didn't need him around. Though, the company was nice to have.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Stupid, fucking, sea. I hate the sea, it was annoying, and horrible, and once we'd set sail I found out that our first docking port was in France, not London! Going from the northern most point of Ireland to London was fine with me, but docking in France first then sailing to London, that made no fucking sense!

Naruto knew I hated the ocean, he never said it out loud, but I could always tell by how he spoke so kindly with me about the smallest things that always took my mind off the rocking of the ship.

"So Gaara… I've noticed my first mate is still here." the private cabin I was sharing with Naruto was infiltrated by the ship's captain and I rolled my eyes.

"I was told we'd be sailing directly to London."

"Hey, either you get rid of my first mate and have his body never found, or I'll let a few of the men do whatever the hell they want with the pretty little blonde kid you brought on board with you." I clenched my jaw and nod my head, knowing I should find Naruto and hide him somewhere on the ship until I got rid of the first mate.

"Yes Captain." I refused to unclench my jaw, knowing I'd rather have them take it out on me rather then Naruto, but that was also the exact reason he was going to have them do it to Naruto and not me.

I got up, my legs wobbling from the lack of food I'd been taking in. but I never ate much on ships- one of the main reasons I liked short boat rides. I grabbed my dagger and placed it in the back of my pants, not caring if the captain was watching my every move.

"Naruto!" I caught the blondes elbow as he rushed passed me to do something with the ship like he actually worked on it.

"Gaara! What's up, I have to help with the-"

"Forget that. Go to where you've put Kurama and hide yourself." my voice was raw from all the puking I'd done. Naruto's eyes went wide as he pulled his elbow out of my hand and took a half step closer.

"Why? Is something wrong Gaara?" I nod my head once before jerking my head for him to go.

"Don't let anyone see you until I come and get you. If you have to, jump ship and swim to England."

"But Gaara! That's a long-"

"I know I'd be a long swim, but not undoable. It's summer so the water isn't that cold. Just promise me if people try and come after you you'll jump ship." his eyes narrowed as he gripped the front of my shirt and pulled me forward and slightly up even though I was taller then him to begin with.

"I'm starting to think I need to start arranging our means of transportation Gaara. I swear to god, one more freaking pervert touches my ass and I'm going to kill you myself." the threat would have been real to anyone else, even the captain would have believed it, but we both knew that he couldn't kill me.

"I'll come find you once I'm done. And don't worry about it, if it comes down to it, this ship can be manned by two people and a fox." he just rolled his eye and let me go before vanishing through a door I knew had nothing to do with where he was going to hide.

Hands stuffed in my pockets, I head for the captains chambers were I knew the first mate spent all his time. I knocked on the door once before just opening the door and slipping into the room.

"Oh, Gaara… what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be puking over the side of the ship right about now?" I remained motionless for a moment, arms crossed over my chest and my feet keeping me as stable as I could be in a moving vessel.

"Just about to start again, figured I'd get my business out of the way." I unhitched myself from the wall and walked over, reaching behind me effortlessly and grabbed the dagger.

"Really… why business do you have in here?"

"Nothing much. Just an order the captain gave me for being able to sail. There's nothing personal." I flicked my wrist and my dagger flew out from my side, hitting the man square in the temple. He remained there for a moment and I flinched, I wasn't used to seeing people not just fall, and when he blinked it was even grosser. Blood had seeped out of the wound and slid down his face and neck before he finally toppled over and fell back against the solid wood planks of the cabin floor.

I walked over and opened up the window to the back of the ship. It was difficult with his head lolling all over the place, my dagger still deeply imbedded in his head. But once I finally got him out the back of the boat, watching him sink into the murky depths was a nauseating experience.

I heard the cabin door open and turned around in time to see the captain walking into the cabin with Naruto under his arm.

"Ah, hello Gaara… what a coincidence, I figured my first mate would be here." I rolled my eyes and walked over before he could turn the corner of the desk with Naruto.

"Whatever. Clean up yourself." I grabbed Naruto's waist and pulled him out of the captains grasp simply because something about the man pissed me off since Naruto was supposed to be hiding from the captain.

"We were talking Gaara. You can't really just take him out of my-"

"Yes I can. Especially when it's a pervert like you." I pushed Naruto out of the room and quickly followed behind. "One question though captain… when are we docking in France and for how long?"

"In two days for a week. Why?" I just shrugged, having absolutely no reason to tell him. It wasn't possibly because I was spending so much time with Naruto and the fact that I was craving another person's intimate touch again.

I pushed Naruto into our cabin and closed the door behind me, wondering why Kurama was sitting on Naruto's bed. "Let me guess… you've been hiding him here?"

"Where else am I supposed to make sure he isn't hurt?" I let out a sigh and moved over to my cot and lay myself down so I could curl myself into a small ball. "Gaara… are you alright?"

"Fine. You can go back and do whatever you want. I'm just going to stay here and try to relax. If anyone bugs you come and get me… or make a fuss, I'm sure I'll hear." my stomach was starting to hurt again and I felt like I was going to get sick, if it wasn't for the fact that I had nothing in my stomach to get rid of I would have stuck my head out the port hole and let loose.

"Gaara… you don't seem alright, are you sure your-"

"Naruto, there is nothing you'd want to do to help. Do us both a favor and go have fun on the ship."

"Well I don't know how you'd know that! I don't want to see you sick Gaara. Of course if there is something I _can_ do to help I _will_." I just shook my head. Over my week sabbatical I realized very quickly that I could go little more then two days without sex, and if I tried to go for longer that I'd get unstoppable stomach pains that would only go away with sexual release.

"Naruto, I don't want you to help. I'll be fine." the pain shot up a notch when Naruto touched my shoulder and I visibly flinched. "Go away!" I felt his hand leave my shoulder and there was a small growl from Kurama before the sound of the cabin door opening and slamming closed caught my attention.

With a sigh I loosened my body a bit and decided to do the best I could on my own about the problem I'd acquired.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

As soon as we docked in France I ditched Naruto in the closest tavern before bringing a girl up to a room I got privately for myself. The feeling in the pit of my stomach made me want to get rid of myself. The girl called herself Ino or something, and she was far too… giggly for my liking.

Three knocks came on my room's door when she was sleeping and I got up with nothing but a light blanket around my waist.

"Hello?" my eyes went slightly wide as I saw Naruto standing there, a tired look on his face. He was wearing his night clothes and even his funny night cap. "What's up Naruto?"

"I uh… can't sleep. I was hoping that I'd be able to bunk with you… but it's alright, I can see that your busy." he hugged Kurama a little bit tighter and I couldn't help but sigh and nod my head.

"I'll be there in a minute Naruto. Jus uh, leave the door unlocked." he nod his head and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. I wished I knew what was going through his head, what he was thinking when he spoke with me, what he thought when he saw me standing in a doorway wearing nothing but a thin bed sheet and an obvious sent of sex that permeated the room.

With a sigh I closed the door again and started to rummage around the room for my pants. "W-what?" I looked up and noticed the girl was waking up.

"I'm going out for a bit feel free to stay if you want." I answered in almost perfect French and I just caught her nodding her head as she sat up and rubbed her eyes, not seeming to care that her breasts became visible again. It was horrible that no matter who I was with I had to imagine Naruto, but I just shook the thought out of my head as I went into Naruto's room.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I hated that stupid France loving harlot. Ino was such a stupid girl, she was a mermaid who unlike me wanted to bring a man back to the sea much like Shikamaru did. She'd even brought back several men to be in the ocean with her, and she used them much like Shikamaru did. But one thing that I hated most about her was her father had been trying to set her up with Shikamaru for at least a thousand years, and there she was, sleeping with my soul.

I stood outside the tavern in the dress of a woman I'd killed who was walking down by the shore line by herself. The dress was slightly wet and I could simply just make a fake tale that I'd fallen into the ocean and needed to sit by the fire to warm up and dry off. Anyone would give me what I wanted with little more then a pleading look and my chest jutted outwards.

The room was warm as I moved over to the fire, hating the heat but needing to stay in character, no matter how uncomfortable the constricting clothes got. "Excuse me miss… is there anything I can get you?" the soft French voice jogged me from my thoughts.

I turned my head up to the barmaid and shook my head with a fake sad expression. "N-no… I haven't any money. Lost it in the o-ocean-n." I did a quick fake shiver and the woman sighed possibly because of my horrible French.

"Poor dear. I'll bring you something to drink." she vanished back into the kitchen area and I let out a sigh as I held my hands towards the fire. The hot feeling that hit me was almost too much to bear and I shrunk back, turning so only one side of my body was facing the fire.

I kept my eyes open to see if Ino was going to come down into the main tavern or if she was going to remain in the room waiting for my Gaara. I set my arms around my waist and turned my eyes towards the fire for a moment, loving the look of the flames. I couldn't believe that I was named after fire, after something of a fire element when I was a mermaid, but there was little I could do about my name, and after three thousand years I wasn't about to change it.

My eyes caught a flash of white blonde and I looked up, my voice rising of its own accord. "Ino!" she froze and turned to me for a moment before smiling widely and rushing over.

"Ember! What are you doing here? I thought you hated the French! Oh, I'm so happy! Sakura and Hinata both ran out of steam when we were swimming passed England." she came over with a hop in her step and a bounce in her breasts.

"Stay away from him Ino." she froze before raising an eyebrow and slid into the seat across from me.

"Who are you talking about Ember? I'm no where near Sasuke, or Shika-"

"Gaara. Stay, away, from Gaara. I do not give you permission to be near him, and if I see you near him again I'll make sure you regret it." I saw the smug look in her eyes and allowed my eyes to flash red as I crossed my arms over my chest. "Do all you want with Sasuke or Shikamaru. Just stay away from my Gaara."

"You're Gaara? Where the hell did that come from? Because I didn't see your name anywhere-"

"On his right pectoral. I bit him over two weeks ago Ino. He's mine, so back off before I take out your entire family." she opened her mouth but stopped as thunder rolled in the distance and rain started pouring down. The look that crossed her face was absolutely shocked as I tried to stop myself from crating a storm on my own.

"A-alright. Fine, do what you want, he was bad anyways." she rolled her eyes and turned, shouldering the girl who was carrying a hot cup and from what I could smell it was soup.

"Are you alright there sweetie? She looked nice." I could hear the sarcasm in her voice and just smiled.

"Y-yes I'm fine." I gave a weak smile even though I knew I didn't need to and she returned it with a confident one before handing me the hot cup of soup.

"Here you go sweetie… so, I've got my break, care to tell me why you're here in France?" the woman's French was so flawless that it took me a moment to translate the words in my head.

"Y-yes, I'm running away from my brother. He uh, doesn't want to give me enough freedom as I need."

"So you chose France? I'm not sure your too smart with freedom there sweetie." the fact she kept calling me that was starting to get on my nerves, but I just shrugged and took a sip out of the soup cup.

"Well, it's better then Ireland. No one is allowed to do anything there without permission."

"Oh, did you hear? A Lords entire family was assassinated by 'the Jinkuriki of the Sand' the northern part of the island was in an uproar for about a week!" I nod my head with a fake scared look.

"Yes, of course I heard. That's one of the reasons my brother is so ruthless with keeping me 'safe' at home. But, I had to leave… so I left." the woman nod her head in agreement and we remained talking for a long time, so late into the night that long after the middle of the night had passed the girl smiled at me and offered to share her apartment for the night until I could find my own place in France. I respectfully declined her offer and slipped out of the building and back into the ocean so I could get to England long before Gaara.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Morning came and I was still beside Naruto and it was horrible for me, his head was on my shoulder again and the sound of light snoring was invading my ears. Every time I tried to move he would cling tighter to my chest and continued to drool on my pale skin that'd missed years of sunlight because as a child I never liked to go shirtless.

I tried waking him up enough to let me go, and I got to a point where he'd pushed himself up on his elbows, until he mumbled for me to shut up and be a good pillow before he wrapped his arms around my chest and his legs around one of mine. So I had my own personal blonde cyst attached to the side of my body.

I gave up on trying to get him to move and raised the arm he wasn't on the shoulder of, allowing my fingers to run through the blonde hair in soothing circles that made me want to do much more then just stroke his temple. Banishing the thoughts quickly though I set my mind to the task of keeping him asleep and the details of how I'd go about getting my money if it wasn't already in the floor boards of the apartment where my informant was supposed to put it.

Birds chirping, the skies brightening, the city waking up. No new sounds I hadn't heard a million times before. It all felt the same and I didn't know why, even after everything I'd been through with and without Naruto it was only new in the mornings when he woke up. Blue eyes would never open the same way twice- except those days when he decided to wake up by falling out of bed -even some of those days his eyes opened the same way. Usually a grumble that didn't sound the same would accompany opening eyes, and most certainly some kind of profanity if I was waking him up.

"Gaara… why don't you spend any time with me, anymore?" I turned my eyes down on Naruto seeing how wide and blue they were looking directly at me, my finger still rubbing his temple and his chin moved to my pectoral and the saddest expression surfacing in the pools of blue.

"I do so spend-"

"I mean when you're not telling me what to do, or worrying about something I'm doing or have done. Why don't you spend any time with me because you want to?" he blinked and I felt like my heart was going to be ripped in two.

"I'm here, aren't I?" he nod his head once and looked at me as if he was waiting for more. "Naruto… we have to get on another ship soon. I have to make plans to-" Naruto cut me off as he pushed himself up and straddled my waist before pushing my shoulders back into the fairly plush bed.

"No Gaara. Tell me why you suddenly hate me!" the anguish in his face made me flinch and I'm sure he thought it was because of him because he instantly let me go and got up off the bed. "Fine. Don't answer me, you go ahead to England, I'll be somewhere around here when you want to actually give me your answer Gaara."

My jaw dropped as he left the room, nothing more then having pulled his t-shirt over his head and kicked his feet into his shoes. I felt like my heart was constricting as he vanished from the room, I was half expecting him to come back into the room and just sit down silently for my explanation. But he never came back and I found myself alone in his room.

It took a while, but I finally pulled myself from the room and grabbed my bag from my own room, noticing that Ino was gone and that everyone was looking at me when I got down into the tavern to pay.

Fists clenched and my head down I walked through the harsh rain, my newest plan was to get on the first merchant vessel and get back to England as soon as possible. The newest scuffle with Naruto had made my mind swirl with questions and I knew I had to get my act together, I just didn't know how.

I felt something hit my shoulder and I spun around, dagger out and against a throat before I even saw who it was. "Whoa! Easy there Gaara. Just me, what're you doing in France?" I blinked a few times and looked into the single grey eye. "Man, you are strung tighter then a freaking palace drum Gaara."

"Kakashi? What are you doing here? You're supposed to be in England to get the-"

"Relax Gaara. Don't get your knickers in a bunch. Your money is safely in the floorboards and I'm on vacation. Iruka and I are out here for a bit of fun. What about Naruto, aren't the two of your joined at the hip?"

"Not right now. I'm about to hop on the next ship headed for England and if he doesn't get on it then he doesn't. I have to stop coddling him if he doesn't want it." I shrugged before turning away from my English informant, the guy who'd gone to the palace to pick up both the job and the money, so he was my face in England.

"Too bad he wants more then coddling." I looked back over my shoulder slightly to ask what Kakashi meant by that, but the silver haired, one eyed man was gone. I spent only a moment looking for him in the crowd before continuing my walk with a bit of a glare on my face.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

That stupid blonde, what was up with blondes and trying to get my Gaara? I was so pissed that I'd decided to stay back and not go to England. I was so angered when I saw that stupid blonde clinging to Gaara in the bed, then when he pinned him down, why was Gaara standing for that? He didn't even let me cuddle!

My fists clenched tight and anger was one of the only things flowing through my system. My eyes flashed red and thunder rolled through the sky, making my bones shiver and quake as I sunk back into the water almost two hours after the argument between the annoying blonde and my Gaara.

The first thing I noticed once I got into the water that it was heated with an oncoming storm, and the only thing that I could think of when the water got warm was 'Sasuke's on his way.'

A shiver ran up and down my spine as my legs turned back into a tail and I flicked it a few time to get used to the water again, that horrid half feeling was something that I detested every time I changed.

An eerie howl overtook the water around me and an even more powerful shiver wracked my body. I knew that sound too well and I knew what it meant: Kiba was hunting. The harsh merman was relentless for finding whatever he was hunting, and it was said that the sound of his howl could be heard by his pray all around the world. I'd heard his howl several times in my life, but he'd been directly beside me and I was close enough to see his lips curve to make the correct pitch, but I couldn't see him there in the English Channel.

I turned in the direction of England and started moving as quickly as I could so I could get back on land. If Kiba was after me then I wanted to get on land because his strong point was certainly the water.

I swam until I was technically in English water, swimming much closer to the surface then I normally would have, but the channel had a cold wind blowing over it making the surface water darker then normal. It was perfectly normal, nothing was wrong and it was a nice swim, my latest serenade for Gaara running through my head to get the lyrics right and to make sure that the melody was just fine, when all of a sudden the sounds of frightened fish caught my ears.

It was an off sound, basically panicked tail fins flipping back and forth rapidly, the bubbly sounds of their mouths opening and closing. I looked back over my shoulder to see if it was just a shark or maybe even Ino- though there was a part of me that was fearing it being Kiba.

What I saw was not what I expected though; a fishing net. How fucking ironic that a fishing net would have gotten close enough to me that I couldn't out-swim it and I can't turn because it was already upon me. The holes in the net were small enough to catch cod fish and I could tell that no matter how hard I kicked my fin I was doomed for.

"No!" I could feel the sting of tears in my eyes as I kicked harder but found the net coming up under me. I was scared, beyond belief I was scared straight, but I had to steel myself. I was going to get caught, I was going to be a naked woman, and I was not going to have my fin.

The fear of what they would do to me if just a beautiful girl came up in a fishing net was scary, but the fear of being a caught mermaid was a horrid one too, they could try and get wishes from me, or they could try and kill me for my fin, or sell me. Anything could happen… but the fear of being raped overpowered all, and as the net was pulled out of the water I kept my fin as my body mixed with the fish's and I felt the horrid weightlessness of the net moving made me want to heave.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

My money was in the apartment right where Kakashi always put it. I moved the three floor boards and pulled out the two large sacks of gold coins that could allow Naruto and I to live in comfort for a long time- allow, me to live in comfort for a long time. Without Naruto I guess my life would be really boring and rich- something I never wanted.

I set the bags into my large backpack so I could go to my special place- I shared it with Naruto, but again… it just didn't feel the same to call it that after our falling out. The streets were crowded and I stayed away from all the major fairways that the master thieves always stuck to, hiding in the few shadows that gave the allies their daylight mystery even in the middle of summer.

Rivers and hills, valleys and mountains, a lake and a thick river that made my skin crawl just looking at it. Our spot was just down at the bottom of the valley beside the thick river, underneath a tree that Naruto and I practiced our tree climbing skills on for so many hours to make sure we could get out of any situation.

The three hour hike had been our safe spot before we'd gotten our first room. The trunk was fairly large and hollowed out near the bottom so it offered good protection from the weather and he had been exceptional at creating fires so we could cook what I caught. It was mostly rabbits and the occasional badger, but those things put up more of a fight then they were worth to us since the meat was so tough.

I got to the tree and knelt down by the opening that used to be just as tall as I was, I'd had to duck my head only a little to slide into the small space. I knelt there, having to duck as I knelt to just get my upper half into the hollowed spot so I could dig up what I needed.

The dagger I had was a horrible shovel, but it worked. The ground was firm and compacted- just how I'd left it. Naruto didn't even know about what I was unearthing. After every job I'd taken at least ten gold coins and hidden them in a burlap sack in the ground under where we used to lay our heads. I had enough for the two of us to live like kings and I was planning on using them eventually, but hiding all the money from this job seemed like a good idea to me.

"God… I need to figure out what we're doing Naruto. I need to figure out what I'm doing. Because on one hand you're my brother and my only real family- no matter what that freaky guy said about me in the forest when he was being a creeper.

"But you're the only family I have and I shouldn't jeopardize that. But at the same time you're the only one I really care about and I feel dirty every time I lay down with a girl.

"You're a man like me and it's not right. I want to do things to you that only men and women should do and I know that's not right. I've thought of nothing but you for years and years, and even now while we're 'fighting' all I can think of is you.

"Seeing that sorrow in your eyes earlier hurt me like those blue pools were daggers digging into my heart. And I wanted to deeply to tell you how I felt, but I didn't, I just couldn't though. After all the deathly shit I've done, telling you how I feel just doesn't seem like something I can do. I'm scared of you being scared of me and not wanting to even look at me.

"If fleeting moments in your bed at night, helping you sleep is what I have to deal with, then I'll live with that. God, I'm so far gone that I can't even stop talking to myself like I'm talking to you. When, when did you take over my every thought? Was it gradual, or did it hit my like a galloping horse?" I let out a sigh as I finished talking to myself, no longer sure on how I should act or feel. "All I know, is I love you… and I'm too scared to be a man and tell you."

I closed my eyes and curled up in a ball again, remembering my small bear stuffed animal that I'd stolen from a shop at a young age. It had been my only companion until Naruto that even just the thought of the bear was comforting. It had a shrine even, when the head had finally worn off from so many hugs and tugs, being flopped around and twisted in arms. I buried it on a hill where a wonderful sunset always fell over the valley.

I lay in the hollow of my childhood home for a long time, thinking back on all the times Naruto and I had snuggled under a single blanket and curl together for warmth. Winter had been horrible, and if I hadn't stolen ten extra blankets we would have froze to death. We'd curled up together in the ten blankets, sharing as much body heat as possible and even had a small fire in the corner of the hollow, all the ground and wood around it soaked with water and the heat doing only enough to keep our toes from freezing off.

"Hey! Get the hell up!" my ankle was grabbed and I was yanked from the hollow roughly, not even being aware enough to grab my dagger. I'd been so at peace that I was useless in the one safe haven I'd shared with Naruto for so long.

I hopped up and tried to get into a fighting stance, but before I could move I was pushed with my back against the tree and a forearm was pushed against my throat, both my wrists were caught and my legs were pinned to the tree behind me.

I looked from the set of red eyes directly in front of me to the grey ones to my right and the deep brown eyes to my left. Noticing secondly that all three men were soaking wet and naked.

"Now you better listen up, and listen fucking good kid. My sister is gone because of you, and so your going to have to get her back. She tried to impress you, and now she's being held captive. You have three days to save her. Get going." the man in front of me with the red eyes sounded like he was going to rip my throat out as clouds started churning behind him and his forearm pressed harder against my throat.

"What? I don't know who your sister-"

"Ember! Ember has been taken? Do I have to speak slowly for you? You have three days to save my sister before we start doing worse and worse things to that blonde boy you're choosing over her. If you're five days late, I'll rip his heart out and serve it to you on a silver platter." my eyes went wide as the other's red eyes began to swirl with anger.

"I think what Sasuke is trying to say, is we are Mer-folk, and we like our pleasure. It won't be good for your little blonde love interest if you don't bring Ember back in three days. Because I assure you, I'll help rip his heart out. I don't care if she gets your soul or not anymore, all I care about is getting her back." I turned my eyes to lock with sad and angered grey eyes and I felt like my skin was crawling because I knew the look: it was the one I'd had when I was talking about Naruto.

"Ember is being held in the English Royal Palace. She's pretty hard to miss since she's a freaking mermaid. Like we said, you've got three days, or your precious blonde boy is going to be killed."

"H-how do I know he's not already dead?" my voice was shakier then I wanted it, but it relayed the message that I needed it to.

Lips were suddenly crashed on mine and I could see a watery image of Naruto tied in kelp, shirtless and completely immobilized by the seaweed. His eyes were red around the edges and he looked like he'd been crying harshly. I noticed as some pink haired mermaid swam up and pressed a kiss to his lips, seeing as the bubbles rose from the connection of their mouths.

The lips were removed from mine and I blinked a few times to see normally again, wondering how the hell that had worked. "Those air-kisses will only keep him alive as long as I tell them to keep it up. Your half incubus, your need to be with him again should be enough for you to hurry and get her back, so you can get him." I watched as this Sasuke person wiped his lips, only wishing I had the same option. "Do we have a deal, demon?"

"Do I have a choice?" he gave a smirk and shook his head as he let my throat go.

"No, no you don't. Common Shika, Kiba… we should go make sure that our newest underwater guest isn't too uncomfortable." I wanted to go after them, but I knew that if I had three days to get Ember back before they'd start to hurt Naruto I had to get going so I could break into the freaking palace and then get out again.

My heart beat a million miles a minute as all three dove into the water, their legs turning into tails mid-jump and vanished into the thick river I'd loved so much as a kid. I was so confused about everything that had been said, but all I knew was that Naruto was in danger because of me and I had to help him.

Scenario's ran through my mind as I buried all the money but what I'd need to get the job done, taking into account the fact that my sword was dull and I needed a new quiver of arrows and a new arsenal in general. I had one day to get ready, one day to break into the palace and the last to find Ember and get out again before the royal guards were on my trail quicker then I could run.

My head was pounding as I finished burying the money, hating the fact that I'd actually left France without Naruto. I knew I was being stupid when I did it, but I thought it was going to be one of those small things and as soon as I was done at our old tree I was going to go back and find him anyways! How the hell did my life get turned upside down and flipped around in the course of twenty four hours?

I let out a sigh and plopped down on the ground beside the river, glaring into the dark depths. "If any of you can hear me, I'd like to speak with one of you." my voice was fairly raised, but not enough for me to feel like I was in the middle of an uninhabited valley yelling at water.

A sigh escaped my lips again as I moved to get up from the river bank so I could get to work on my newest mission that would bring me the biggest reward I'd always strived for: Naruto's safety.

I froze when a cold wet ha grabbed my ankle, when I looked back I looked into the hard grey eyes of the merman that had his hair tied up in a slightly droopy ponytail at the top of his head, making him look a lot like a wet, limp pineapple.

"Talk."

"I need you to tell Naruto something if I don't make it back and get Ember out for you."

"Wouldn't you get out alive if she does?"

"Not necessarily. Can you just, give him a message?" the merman nod his head a few times and I sat back down, crossing my arms over my knees and let out another sigh as I closed my eyes. "Tell him to come home and dig up the bed. It has to be worded exactly like that though, alright? If it's not then he might not understand."

"Alright, I'll tell him. My name is Shikamaru by the way… and if I can, could I ask you a favor too?"

"Sure I guess." I shrugged as he pulled himself out of the deep river and sat down beside me, allowing me to see the grey tail with the jagged fin at the end. I scanned him over quickly and saw the sharp finger nails, and the defined muscles in his torso, the sharp curve of his face and the jaggedly sharp shark teeth around his neck.

"Tell Ember, that she doesn't have to come home, but let her know that Itachi's back. She'll know what that means." I nod my head a few more times, watching as he slipped back into the water and turned to me. "I wish you luck… I don't want to see the one you care about hurt, really I don't… but if it's a choice between him and Ember, I'll choose him."

"And I'll choose Ember." we both nod in understanding of one another. He obviously cared for the girl I'd fooled around with, cared about her to know more about her then I ever wanted to. She was nothing more then a way to pass the time to me, but to him… she was probably as important as Naruto was to me, I could see it in his eyes.

With heavy limbs and a rattling brain I grabbed up my money pouch and stuffed it into my satchel as I walked back towards London, if I was going to break into the palace I might as well do it with as much style and comfort as I could, but that also meant visiting a horribly good friend: Asuma, the biggest weapons forger in England, and also one of the only people who knew who I really was.

**AN:**

**Me: I apologies about the end of this chapter being rushed, but I've got a lot on my mind right now with writing and in my head it's getting all messed up and jumbled around.**

**Shikamaru: Elizabeth is sad to inform that this story will be put on hold for a little while, she needs to clear her head with a good book and if she writes something while reading, what she is writing will take on a spin of what she is reading.**

**Axel: so please bare with her for a little while so she can get the plot re-solidified in her mind.**

**Naruto: we apologies for any inconvenience this brings you, but there aren't that many people who read this fic yet, so we hope if there are more then Elizabeth knows about you'll all be fine with this.**

**Me: it's not an emotional problem or anything, but I just need a bit of time. So once again I apologies, and here is Gaara:**

**Gaara: hello all, now that we've all got a bit of a somber tone I suppose I can say this as seriously as I can: Elizabeth would still love reviews, they make her smile and when she smiles everyone she knows is a little happier. So please review and have a good morning/afternoon/evening and live life to the fullest.**

**Axel: thank you for reading!**

**Pattykoi: Hi I'm Elisabeth's sister/ editor and I just wanted to say that your reviews really do make us very happy, as she usually reads them to me. X3**


	4. Chapter 4

**How to Save a Life**

** Alright, this is gonna be Chapter 4! And I also have a question: do you think I should get a deviantART? I've been told it's another good way to get work out (and since I'm still a pretty small author it might be a good idea) this is also going to probably be the last chapter too. The first bit is edited but the second half isn't.**

**Story:**

I came to a harsh conclusion: I hate glass, there is nothing good about it in the least, at all. I could look out into a single room, at the same two people when they 'graced me with their presence' as they put it. Honestly, royalty are such jokes. But I couldn't leave because whatever sort of room I was in they had it built directly to the roof, and that in turn made it impossible to get more then the little air at the thin layer between water and stone at the top of the room.

My mind was swimming with idea's on how to get out, but I knew that the only way I was going to get out is if Kiba had been tracking me when I suspected it. If not, I could very easily have been lost to the prison. I had overheard the king and queen mumbling though, and it sounds like their getting suspicious about if mermaids can actually grant wishes. They had theories about if it was my tears that did it, or if it was my blood, one of them thought that if I ever turned into a human a wish could be granted to the man who 'took me' as they so brutishly said it.

The large wooden door opened again and I turned my head, scanning the two plush thrones and the harsh contrast of everything from the cold stone floor to the elegant wall tapestries telling the history of this young, futile kingdom.

"Ah! Glad to see you again my darling. How has your night been?" I tilted my head to the side, a night had passed, so that meant I was loosing my sense of time. I hadn't said a word to either the king or the queen, and seeing that the king had come in on his own couldn't mean anything good.

The queen was a softly spoken person, mumbling stuff to the king about my beauty, she figured I didn't under stand in the least. The king on the other hand, he thought that I was nothing but a monster. He was the one who had the theories of rape and forcing me to cry, he figured that my tears could be magic, or the blood that runs through my veins. All in all, I agreed with the queen more: I was beautiful beyond compare… but the king was right: my tear could grant any wish, and my blood could heal any injury, might even be able to bring people back from the dead- though I'd never tried it.

I hissed through the water, making the horrid sound watery as if a drowning human was making it. The king just smirked and stared at me, his head tilted to the side and his lips pulled up in a position I'd grown to learn as his sadistic political face.

"So… you still cant talk. You cant even imitate what we say I see… how horrible, here I hoped that you'd be fun to play around with. I wanted so badly to hear what you had to say as I made you cry." I scowled more and hissed again, showing the sharp shark-like teeth that ringed my mouth in only a single layer. "I figured you understood… so are you going to cry, or am I going to have to take it out of you?"

I flicked my fin a few times and swam to the far end of the glass section filled with water before swimming back, making sure to show off my curves in that alluring mermaid twist I'd learned drew the sailors in much more then just swimming. I watched the glint in his eyes and gave a smile.

"It's said that mermaids have beautiful singing voices… will you let me hear yours?" my smile grew wider and I moved down so my face was in front of his, just through the thin layer of glass I could probably have broken if I wanted.

Keeping my face smooth and seductive I opened my mouth a little bit and allowed my slightly blue tongue peak out to lick my lips much like a human would. I could see his eyes follow the movement. I took a deep lung full of air through the small gills under the back of my jaw-bone, so small that they could only been felt and not seen.

The king looked so serine and I watched as his eye lids fell slightly. My voice came out as a powerful shriek that made the king jolt and move back from the tank, hands reaching up to cover his ears at the high pitched sound that was coming from me. My eyes were red and my tail curling behind me as I shrieked, the king stumbled towards the door and even the guard fumbled though it after the king to get away from the sound.

Heavy wood fell closed and flush against the stone wall again and I smirked once I was done with shrieking. I was glad that they left when they did, unfortunately being a mermaid my lungs were smaller then humans, my stomach much larger then most creatures both on land and in the sea. I could tell that the glass would have cracked as well if I'd shrieked much longer.

The sound of the stoned above my 'home' moved, indicating that I was to be fed again, too bad they insisted on putting already dead fish through the small hole it made, just big enough for me to slip through if I had enough momentum and there was no net covering the hole.

The dead fish flopped into the water and began to sink to the bottom. I allowed my lip to curl at the horrid stink that'd continue to fill the tank until I ate the vile dead-things. I would talk to ask for living food if it wouldn't cause me more trouble.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

Loud bustling sounds and the horrid push of people against me on every side. It was the norm for people to push me around in the Underground, nothing I wasn't used to of course. But not when I was this pissed off. I'd lost a whole freaking day healing a wound some asshole had given me. I was going into this job with a bad attitude, a freaked out heart and a cut on my upper arm.

My nerves finally snapped and I planted my feet, hands clenched at my sides and my eyes shut as I waited a moment for that final shove I knew was coming. As soon as it came I took in a deep breath and let it out as loudly as I could.

"Arrrrrrgggggghhhhh! Back the fuck off you stupid pig-swallows!" my words carried out over a large section of the underground, flying over all the other sounds of hagglers and alleyway fights.

All eyes turned to me and I ground my teeth together and started pushing people out of my way so I could get the last few things I needed before heading into the palace to retrieve Ember. One of them being a meeting with a former guard who was supposed to tell me where the mermaid was, he'd apparently had a religious problem and was fired for trying to kill her- something that I couldn't possibly allow now that I had to bring her back alive to get Naruto back alive.

The Underground had become alive again with people resuming their routines, just making sure to stay out of my way as I moved. Few people nudged me or even looked at me until I got to the weapons dealer and I glowered.

"Hey Gaara… putting on a show for all of us are you?"

"Shut up and give me those arrows I ordered yesterday."

"Cant, their not made yet. I told you it'd take at least a week to get that many of the quality you want Gaara. I don't know what kind of hunting a kid like you does but-"

"Give me whatever damn arrows you have then! I need them, now! I told you to make them for me today and I gave you the compensation money. So do it!"

"Gaara, money cant make me shit arrows out of my ass! You'll have to wait the week like I-"

"I gave you enough money to close this stupid stand down for a month Asuma! If you want, I can shoot arrows up your ass, but I doubt that'd help you make 'em!" as far as everyone in the Underground knew I was just a kid who liked hunting, it wasn't like I didn't bring in some of the biggest game there was as it is, a bear or two even, I as famous for my big kills… but when your primary target is human, a bear is nothing but child's play.

"Gaara. Simmer down will ya? I told you, I'll have them by the end of the week. I've only got ten made, the other twenty will just have to take a few-"

"If you say 'day's' I'm going to kill you Asuma… give me whatever projectiles you've got and give me back my compensation money." I saw the anger flash across his face, but the fear that flashed was even more noticeable.

"Fine, here you go." he slapped down a bunch of arrows made of cedar instead of oak and the heads looked barely sharp enough to cut air at best. I waited a moment looking at the meager pile before he set out a few throwing knives and finally a large sword that looked like it'd been imported from Asia.

"And the money?" he growled as he slapped down five gold coins. I'd given him six in compensation, but I no longer gave a damn about my money since I was loosing more and more time just sitting around waiting for him to give me what I needed. "I'll see you when I get back most likely… if not, have a nice life." I saw him raise his eyebrow at the comment but paid it no mind as I scooped up the arrows and set them in the quiver, putting the knives in my belt and the long Asian sword on my hip.

"Where the hell are you hunting anyways? I haven't seen you bring in a kill from the last bunch of weapons you took out."

"Went to Ireland, did some hunting there but it was shit. So I came back." I shrugged the lie off easily before I rolled my shoulders and allowed my thoughts to drift for a moment, I only wished I knew if Naruto was alright or not.

Asuma never cared if I left without saying goodbye, I usually never did. But when my eyes landed on the red eyed black haired man who was standing against a stall, his arms crossed over the thin chest and a glare on his face that could rival my own I felt anger flare inside me; shouldn't he be keeping Naruto alive?

I walked towards him and scowled as he slipped between the stalls, his lips curling into a smirk as I followed into the unlit section, being able to see him only by the pasty white skin and this glowing red eyes that might haunt my dreams if I ever sleep again.

"Hey! Where is he if you're here?" I grabbed Sasuke's arm and he stopped in the thin space between the two stalls, his smirk still in place. "I want to know where he is."

"He's fine, but you've only got one day left. Shouldn't you be a lot further along then yelling at a weapons dealer about your weapons being made?" the anger in his eyes made me let his arm go and I clenched my fist instead.

"You got a problem? I'm working as quickly as I can. Now tell me how Naruto is doing. Is he alright or is he-" I was cut off at those cold slightly slimy lips were pressed against mine. He'd obviously just licked his lips and the thought of it made me want to puke until my vision blurred and I was once again granted a watery image of Naruto.

He wasn't under water this time, he was in what looked like an air-pocket cave, breathing freely on his own but still wrapped in seaweed and kelp to keep him from moving. The pink haired girl was laying down on the cave floor a little ways away, it looked like they were talking but because of the watered down image I couldn't read their lips- a skill I was good at from hiding too far away to hear conversations and having perfect vision.

I wished I could see better, but I lost the image as a tongue was thrust into my mouth and swirled around mine twice before I pushed the raven haired man against the wall across from me, both our backs against the sides of stalls and my arms not even being stretched fully.

"The hell?" his lips just pulled up into a smirk and he shrugged, brushing my hands away from his shoulders before leaning forward again and pressing a peck to my lips as I stood confused a fearful of the fact that my tongue was bleeding slightly from when I'd tried to push his tongue out of my mouth.

"Don't be mad… I just wanted a taste, but I'm satisfied now. I've been wondering why she chose you. Now thanks to that taste of your blood I can see it's because your heart would taste delicious." I blocked the spot in my chest where my heart was with my right hand and he just scoffed before moving my hand away. "That wouldn't help if I wanted your heart. Besides, it's much better to steal a heart when your victim is enthralled in pleasure, when it'd beating so quickly it might burst on it's own. But, if I kill you then who would go get my sister?"

"Where did you get the clothes?" I wanted off the topic and that seemed like as good as any reason to switch the flow of our conversation.

"A sailor… mermaids aren't the only ones who can kill sailors you know… mermen just like different… approaches." I watched the subtle curve as he smirked and leaned forward. I set my hands on his shoulders and glared as I pushed his back against the stall again. "What? You don't want to experience anything with another man before you see the blonde? Here I thought you'd try to persuade me not to touch him."

"I wouldn't have to, if you'd let me get going."

"Common, even a half incubus has to have some kind of desire to be with another man." he tried to move forward again but I kept his shoulders against the grainy wood of the back of the stall.

"No. now if you don't mind, I have to go save your stupid sister." I turned so I could get back to the room I'd rented when he caught my elbow and pushed me against the stall myself.

"You see… you don't get an option here Gaara…" the way he said my name made my skin crawl like spiders were rushing over my skin. "It's either you or him. I'm giving you a very good deal here Gaara." I turned back and looked into his eyes, seeing the rage swimming in those horrid red eyes. "You can lay with me, or I can lay with him. So make your choice."

I clenched my jaw tightly knowing that I had to keep Naruto from being hurt by any means necessary, to the point where it was pathetic how I realized I'd do anything for him. With a harsh glare of my own I gripped the front of the fairly dirty shirt from the sailor he'd killed and pulled him forward so our lips pressed together, only hoping that a kiss would allow me to see Naruto so I could forget about what was about to happen to my body.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

There was no image of Naruto in the small alleyway that anyone could have stumbled upon, nothing to stop me from having to think of what was happening. Every touch his cold hands made on my body nothing like Ember's as he dominated me with an anger that seemed ruthless.

I kept my glare though and I refused to close my eyes and even imagine Naruto feeling his hand in my hair, pulling my head back to try and divert my eyes even though I held the glare.

As soon as he was done he smirked, said something about a shame that he no longer had a reason to do anything with Naruto and that I'd bought myself another day to get Ember back.

I refused to watch as he left the alley between stalls, my clothes on the compacted dirt floor and my body still exposed and covered in sweat. My legs were shaking and my arms felt like they were about to turn into noodles because I'd had to restrain myself from hitting him so many times. I wanted dearly to kill him like that stupid pirate on the cliff back in Ireland, but I didn't, because killing him would do Naruto no favors.

I slowly lowered myself to the ground and knelt down, not trusting to have my butt touch anything from the flaming pain, I might have even been bleeding.

It took me a few minutes of looking internally to see if I believed in deity and once I found nothing I let out a huff and started to slowly get up. Once I pulled my pants up after checking if I was bleeding or not I heard the scuffing sound of a foot and turned with a knife in my hand, seeing the same man that I had in the woods, the guy who'd called himself my father.

"You know, incubi are no where near the same level as mer-folk. And the fact that you've let yourself be manipulated by them… goes to show me that you're weak." I weighted the knife in my hand for a few moments and I got ready to throw it if he got much closer.

"If you're my father, answer me this: why the hell did you kill my mother and leave?"

"Because she was dying as it was. I've told you this. What I want to know is why your selling yourself for that blonde? It's a disgrace to fight so hard for someone who isn't a lover."

I rolled my eyes and grabbed my shirt off the ground, wincing slightly when the fairly rough material brushed over a new bite mark on my neck from the shark-like teeth that'd been in Sasuke's mouth. "So, you want to be his lover… what made you this disgusting?"

"Why do you suddenly care?" he shrugged as he walked forward, his hands in his trouser pockets and a fairly blank expression on his face.

"Believe it or not, I'm proud that I've got a kid that's such an efficient thinker. No other incubi children I've seen have taken their natural abilities and done as much as you have. Killing just became instinct for you because you refuse to lay down and take it. Most of the other incubi and succubus children I've seen are harlots or worse." I just shrug at the comment. Killing was how I kept myself safe passed the age of five, everyone wanted to hurt me, so I always hurt them first.

Naruto has been my only exception, he's my only exception for everything. I'd even gotten a letter from Kakashi who was still in France the day before. Apparently they'd found a small fox kit and Iruka had decided to take it in. they'd described the kit as fairly aggressive but the trait I noticed most was the black markings they described from his eyes to the tips of his ears. I wrote Kakashi back right away that it was Naruto's and if he lost it he'd be my next target… his reply had been received earlier, apparently Naruto came after me and asked them to watched the little kit and they just wanted to see if I'd stand up for the kit.

"Well, as it is I'm sorry that you had to do that for him… you must be feeling pretty fucking shitty." I kept my jaw clenched as I fixed my clothes as best I could. I'd stumbled upon people being intimate together in the Underground myself but the horror of being found like that is so much worse that I cant even describe it.

With a huff the guy grabbed my elbow as I started trying to walk away again. With a clenched jaw I spun around and allowed my fist to connect with his jaw, smirking as he stumbled back a little bit. "Hey! I'm trying to help you here! What the hell was that for you stupid-"

"Why the hell bother? I can do this on my own. I don't need some freak telling me that he's going to help me when I don't want it. Leave me alone, or I'll rip your heart out so you can just die."

"Well, I'd hate to tell you, but I've already beat you to that. I have no heart to rip out. Being an incubus I gave it away a long time ago, it was necessary really, gave me better agility, stronger muscles… it really was the only real way to go." I just rolled my eyes as he went off on that stupid incubus crap again. I wasn't buying it, so I had no idea why he tried to keep selling it as that stupid shit.

"Good for you. Now get lost." I took my elbow back and started walking again, my quiver of arrows and bow strapped to my back, the long sword at my hip and several throwing knives all around my belt. I felt my wrist get caught again and spun around with one of the knives, jabbing it into his chest, right through his heart.

His eyes look distant for a moment, and right when most people fall down dead, he began laughing, quite hysterically actually. "Oh! That, that is rich! I just told you I got rid of it… so you stab where it should be. Oh, oh god… too rich." he backs up slightly and bends over as he wiped the tears from his eyes- tears of joy not pain or fear.

"The Hell?"

He stops laughing and looks up with a bright smile that can only be considered demon-like. "I told you…" he paused as he reached up for the knife still buried hilt-deep in his chest. I watched as he slowly drew it out of his chest and I ground my teeth as the blade came out with what looked like black blood. "I don't have a heart, and I don't have a soul. So before you go and find this girl your after, I'd get rid of both kid. Otherwise, you'll find yourself dead."

"What are you-" he moved too quickly, no one should have been able to see him move, I certainly didn't. But I was surprised, I could see his hand perfectly- rather I couldn't see his hand. Just a wrist then my chest. There was no pain which was something my mind expected as soon as I'd seen the wrist connected to the hand gripping my heart, flexing in tandem with its' beating.

My eyes hazed over slightly as the hand was ripped out, my heart still sitting in his palm and still beating a few times before I saw it stop. I could feel myself falling, but couldn't stop it, my limbs simply wouldn't move.

"You should have given it to him a long time ago as it is son… I shouldn't have to do it for you." I was looking up at him then, my heart still in his hand and a slightly red luminous glow emanating from it that I couldn't see before.

So, a soul was hidden in the heart… maybe poetry… had a point. I felt my eyes slip closed as everything went numb, and then I was just… gone, like existing never even happened.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I was beyond scared straight as the king came back into the room, his wife floating beside him in a new dress I'd been hearing about from the guards all day, apparently it made her figure stand out more, but she had no figure to compliment, so they were all just looking to be the castle scandal.

It was horrible, I didn't know how to save lives, I just knew how to take them. Even when it was my life that needed saving. Shikamaru had been the only one to ever try saving me when I needed it, and in all my three thousand years to that point I'd never needed it more.

Tears sprung to my eyes and vanished into the water surrounding me as the king walked up with his wife, they'd learned that I could only pull off a scream once or twice before my voice started cracking, and my throat felt like it was raw and ripped inside. The king set his nasty nails against the glass in front of me and dragged them down, making the most horrid sound in the world. If it wasn't for the fact I was already crying and that they couldn't tell I'd started up then they'd try and haul me out of the water to collect the tears.

"Sai! Get in here a moment, I want to hear what you think of this… delectable creature." I could see the slightly angered expression on the queens face as a tall and slender boy came into the room, a blank expression on his face and his hands clasped behind his back.

"You called sir?"

"Yes… I want to know what you'd do to extract a tear from this creature." the new boy with black hair and a straight face looked at me for a moment. I noticed he looked a lot like Itachi and Sasuke put together, but the general lack of emotion and the fact he wasn't getting me out of the horrid glass tank was my one and only needed signifier that he was not my run away brother.

"Well, that is easy your majesty. I'd drown her."

"How do you drown something that can breathe water Sai? You make no sense."

"Easy… you drown her in air. And if that doesn't work, I'm sure a bit of heat wouldn't hurt to help us try… though it might hurt her. But that's the point, isn't it?" the smile that came over his face was just for show, there was no genuine emotion behind it, and even if there was, it'd just be sadistic.

"Oh my Sai… this is exactly what we needed! Thank you! James! Get her out of there and get a fire going!" fear washed my body and I forced the tears to stop flowing into the rest of the water around me, assuring that they wouldn't get any horrid idea's involving draining the water for diluted tears. But as for making me drown, that was impossible, and as long as they didn't set me on fire, I wouldn't let a tear slip- I wouldn't put it passed them to set me on fire though.

James walked out of the room and I knew he was going to be going to the room above the one I was in, most likely to take out more bricks then just the one they used to feed me. My only hope was that they'd take out too many and I'd be able to pull James into the water before he could get a net on me.

I was famished from all the dead fish I'd eaten, and it'd probably do the king some kind of good to see what I'm capable of, they didn't need to know that I could devour both above and under water though… a girl's gotta keep a few secrets after all, don't I? I swim to the far end of the water and watched as the bricks are removed at least three, plenty big enough to pull the biggest of men through. The net is lowered into the water and to my surprise as two people jump in after it. Each holding a knife in one hand and grabbing the net in the other

I glare at both of them harshly for a moment, pushing my back against the far wall so I can spring at one of them. The only problem that my plan has is that they both have a knife, and could easily cut me if I go for the other.

Legs, they were my only hope. I could use my legs to wrap around one of the arms and could just grab the other with my hands while I devour that person… or I could take the knives and drown them both. Drown victims were much fresher then dead before I got them… not quite as fresh as being eaten alive, but it's fresh enough.

With a simple curve of my tail I could take one knife then the other, drowning them would be simple from there of course. With a powerful flick and curve of my tail I sprung forward and snatched the knife out of the first persons hand and pulled them with me as I did the same to the other.

Wide eyes and shocked faces. They let out most of their air in screams that came out as nothing more then bubbles and a warbled sound as I pushed both men up against the far wall, my hands wrapped around their throats as I strangled them to death.

I could hear the king yelling on the other side of the glass, but it'd take a few minutes for the men to get to the room above the tank, and by the time more men dove into the water after removing more bricks, I was done with the first two and ready for more,

The water was stained red as I tore through people, ripping out their throats with either my teeth or my nails. I could still see perfectly fine, even as the water turned as red and almost as thick as blood itself. Just to scare the king I pushed one of the men's faces against the glass and allowed the king to watch me rip his throat out.

The sound of arrows staring to pierce the water started catching my attention and I ground my teeth together, the decided to shoot my now? Still wouldn't make me cry, no matter how hard they tried. I wouldn't go down that- shit, my tail!"

The fin on the end of my tail was ripped, making swimming impossible to do easily. Another arrow tears the second side of my fin into two and I flinch at the small amount of pain.

Leg are under me in a second as I sink so I feet are on the cold wet stones of the ground I spring up out of the water and lunge to attack the man with the bow and arrow.

Just as I'm coming down and five arrows are trained on me, the man I'm aiming for going down with an arrow in his head and before the others can react their in the same boat, dead on the ground and me crouching down to kill whoever just killed them.

"You have two seconds to follow me, and this isn't an option." the voice is familiar, but I know I recognize it.

"Who-who are you?" my eyes flash red and I hear thunder rumble outside. I know I'm making a storm outside but my veins pulsate with the horrid feeling that this person is going to kill me next.

A jacket comes out of the shadow filled corner and I look at it for a moment as the voice comes back. "Your two seconds are up." I see a flash of red and I instantly know who it is. My fingers grip at the jacket as I run after them, knowing the turned left around the corner of the door and I noticed he was walking briskly down the hell in front of me.

"G-Gaara! Wait up." he stopped and I rushed up, pulling the jacket over my shoulders and setting my arms through the jacket's arms. I barely open my mouth to talk before he's picked me up and slung me over his shoulder, the jacket so big on my it was more like a dress and covered everything. "H-hey! I can walk! Put me down Gaara!"

"Shut up and stop using my name or I'll gag you too!" my eyes went wide at the threat, wondering what happened to him to make him use that tone with me. He just saved me, shouldn't he be happy and kissing me? And why the hell did he feel different, just his body, it was more ridged, and the way he spoke… it was like he'd lost his soul and was still living.

Fear enveloped me as the realization hit me; he had lost his soul. There was no harsh beat of his hearts as he carried me at a fairly fast pace towards the long stairwell. I felt numb as he set me down and pulled the bow and arrow off the shoulder I hadn't been over, shooting down three guards and grabbing my arm so I could pull me down the stairs incase he needed his bow again.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

She was stiff, I could tell she knew something was wrong, but I didn't have time to ask what the hell was wrong with her. I just had to get her out and then I'd be fine, she'd be fine, and most of all, Naruto would be fine. Did she not know that I was trying to escape, with her no less? I kept her wet hand gripped in mine and shuffled along the stairs, just trying to get back to the window I'd used to get into the palace.

Out of the twenty throwing knives, I had only five left. Out of the thirty horrible quality arrows I had none and out of the ten good arrows I had two left. But the sword I had was still shiny and bloodless on my hip.

"G-Gaara, where-where are we g-going?"

"Home."

"I-I don't want to go home. Not to yours and n-not to mi-"

"Shut up Ember." I grit my teeth, Shikamaru had warned me before I came here that the Itachi card should be saved for last if she refused to come home completely, but that as long as she was moving I didn't have to use the card.

"No! I don't want to-" I stopped in my tracks and pushed her up against a corner as a few guards rushed passed the hallway we were stalking down, inevitably looking for us.

"You are getting out of this castle with me and taking me to that stupid underwater city or I'll kill you- better yet, I'll have _them_ have you." the ear that crossed her face only lasted a minute before it was replaced with anger and I knew I had to sweet talk my way out of the hole I'd dug.

"I have to do no such thing! I was perfectly fine on my own!"

"Please. I've already killed a hundred men to get you back. So shut up and help me get you to safety." I allowed a pleading look to cross my face and pressed a kiss to her lips to emphasize my point, trying as hard as I could not to get sick from just the feel of her plump fairly wet lips.

I felt her fingers grip my hair and pulled me closer completely. I felt her grind into me and I pulled back. "Come." she didn't seem to question it as I started pulling her again, keeping her body close to mine with a firm grip in the front of the coat I'd given her.

The sound of her giggling was something I'd forgotten how much I hated as I pulled her with me, but there was no longer a pain in my chest from the horrid feeling that I'd kissed her, it brought no pain just a sad feeling that I know is because it wasn't Naruto. She grabbed at my hand but once she realized it wasn't moving from the front of the jacket she started draping herself over my shoulders. "Gaara… can we sneak into a room for a few minutes? Please? I want so badly to-"

"No, we're getting out of here. Now hop on my back."

"Oh! Yay, right here in the hallway, I didn't take you for that kind of-"

"So I can jump out the window." I rolled my eyes before turning to her. "You've got a choice of holding on or wrapping the jacket around us both." she just stood there and I let out a sigh, reaching for the zipper of the jacket, figuring it'd be easier then wondering if she'd be able to hand on.

Ember's eyes just stared at me as I unzipped the jacket and pulled her arms out of the sleeves. I took one of the throwing knives off the belt and quickly cut the sleeves away. I was about to replace the knife when a shout caught my attention and a large group of men in full body armor came barreling towards us.

My wrist flicked and caught the closest man in the eye as my other hand daftly moved for the sword on my hip. "Stay behind me."

"But Ga-"

"Shut up, and stay behind me." I clenched my jaw, figuring that all these men would have to die for me to leave. "Zip the jacket back up and do everything that I tell you." I heard the zipper and ignored the snide comments about me 'stealing the first wish' and just rolled my eyes. If having sex with a mermaid granted wishes I wouldn't have been there trying to save her.

A knight lunged forward and impaled himself on the sword, it was so sharp that it cut through the chain mail like it was nothing. I let a smirk cross my face as I turned my wrists and allowed the body to slip off of the sword. "Do me a favor Ember… get up on the window ledge." I checked over my shoulder to make sure she was doing what I asked, and as soon as I saw her perched comfortably I lunged into the soup of chain mail and shouts.

Killing, it still gave me that rushing feeling, stabbing and slashing, grabbing out one of the throwing knives so I could stab at people with that as well as the sword. I could feel adrenaline coursing through my veins along with blood, even without a heart my blood still pumped.

A small amount of pain registered in my upper left arm and I looked down to see a slight amount of black blood dripping down my arm before the blood clotted on the surface and I was left with a black scab. Effective in a fight, if I'd known giving my heart to someone sooner would have allowed that I would have done it sooner.

While I was unconscious I had heard so much talking that I'm assuming was my father. Apparently he said he'd take it to the tree where Naruto and I grew up, from there I had to hide it myself or give it to someone that I cared about- he actually used Naruto's name after, saying I should give it to him to consume. He told me that I could share my heart with Naruto and he wouldn't succumb to aging like humans but like me. And if he died then my heart would keep him alive. I wasn't immortal, not by far, but I would live for a long time.

The information had all sunk in much more while I was knocked out then when I'd just been listening. I no longer resented him for killing my mother once he told me the state she was in, apparently her body looked sunken and broken, that killing her was truly an act of mercy instead of just senseless. I hated the fact that she's gone, but there was reason for it at least… but it just drew me to the conclusion that he should have given her his heart, because an incubi heart would have saved, her… wouldn't it?

I shook my head to get the thoughts out of my head as I slashed at another guard, promising myself that after it was all over I'd only kill someone to protect Naruto, I'd try not to kill to even protect myself if it just gave him back to me.

"Gaara, watch out!" Ember's voice hit my ears too late and I caught the sword right through my left thigh, just missing the bone by the small jerk my body made. But she wasn't worried about me, she was worried about the precious soul and heart she could no longer steal from me. If there was nothing there, then there was nothing for her to steal from me, it should go to Naruto anyways… he's the only one I've ever wanted to give my soul to.

I jabbed at the man on the other end of the sword with the throwing knife, they just kept coming and I wasn't getting a break. Either being slashed at or having people punch at me, resulting in no time whatsoever to grad Ember and jump through the window.

I was on my own and I knew it, nothing I did could possibly make it any better. Ember wanted my heart in return for her time, the knights wanted my head for stealing the mermaid, and Sasuke wanted Ember or Naruto would be raped and killed. I let a few moments pass before making a move, knowing it looked like I was giving up, but that just wasn't an option for me.

Mind made up to go down swinging I did a quick spin and allowed my sword to slash at the protected stomachs of the knights, forcing them back a few feet. I took the opportunity of the time for them to get their feet back under them to turn to Ember and push her out the window. The fall wasn't far enough to kill her, and it was into a plush bush anyhow. "Go! Itachi's waiting for you, he came home to see you. So go and live!"

Pain, horrible pain wracked my body as I heard the tinkling metal of chain mail behind me, getting closer… there was no way I was getting out of here alive. And it hurt so much, knowing that I really never would see Naruto again. Sure, with the things I'd told people and asked of others he'd be wealthy enough to do whatever he wanted, but I didn't know if he'd be safe enough. I didn't know if he'd be willing to live on knowing that the kingsmen had killed me, if he ever found out I died trying to protect him he'd be heartbroken I knew.

But as another sword stabbed my right arm- the more powerful one -I realized that death is what comes to all, even if we have extended lives apart from humans. Death is something I accepted long before I went to save Ember, long before even my trip to Ireland, but Death was not something I was willing to go graciously into, I'd learned at a young age that there was nothing that I could really do without dieing harshly and with curses on my lips as I went out. At least, that's what I thought, but my muscles wouldn't move no matter how hard I tried to make myself move or to swing the throwing knife in my left hand.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I waited a moment, standing just off of the bush looking up at Gaara, waiting for him to jump behind me, I could see his red hair, there in the window, just not moving. My feet wouldn't move for a moment as I waited. But with a sigh I realized that there was no longer anything for me to wait for. His heart and soul were gone, I doubt they were ever even remotely close to being mine as it was. But once his hair vanished completely from view I turned tail and ran.

A wall to scale, a street to run down in nothing but the jacket he'd given me. I no longer cared about him really, but just the thought that he gave his life to save me meant he was doing it for something, something big. Then there was what he said about Itachi, was he really back to see me? It seems far fetched, but I couldn't really take the chance that if he was at home he'd stay.

I turned in the direction of the ocean, my feet bleeding and my heart pounding as people yelled at me to stop running, men hollered that I should go home with them, women gasping and covering their eyes from my state of undress. Everyone seemed to have something to say, but nothing registered until I jumped into the water.

I heard the sound of a few people jump in after me, thinking I was insane and trying to kill myself but I was already too deep and out of their reach. My legs turned once again into a fin and I had no reason to show emotions. Even thought Itachi favored anything I did above Sasuke I knew he'd make me marry Shikamaru, or even Kiba. But he'd take into account that I at least get along with Shikamaru.

I felt nothing as I swam, my fin still trying its hardest to heal itself as I moved through the water, feeling like I was nothing but a log in the water trying to push myself further and further into the deep bowls of the word that lay only concealed completely by water.

I ground my teeth together, tasting the metallic copper-like taste that all blood had once I bit into my cheek. I moved, just wanting to get back to put that episode behind me as much as possible, as long as I could see Itachi I'd be fine he's held me to the earth before. Every time I get bad thoughts about my life he shows up like he know's what I'm thinking and I find myself crying in his arms for hours on end.

Granted, he was probably going to yell at me for being reckless and getting caught by the royals, but just the thought of the arms I've known for so long makes a smile split across my face.

Atlantis came into view and I let a sigh come out of my lips, swimming towards my house and seeing no one. The hope that Gaara had been told his name by at least once person was high, but as I looked around and saw no sighs of Itachi or Sasuke that hope quickly diminished to the point where I wanted to go back to the palace to kill Gaara myself if the guards hadn't finished him off yet.

"Ember… he's this way." I spun around, I hadn't heard Shikamaru approach, and I could tell by the tone of his voice that he was livid with me, I'd obviously caused him more worry over the last month then I ever have.

"Shika I-"

"Just come see your precious Itachi." he basically spat the name at me and I shivered, just hearing him sound so horrid towards me was something I'd only experienced when I was being horrid to him especially, and I'd only hear the tone at most three times. I wasn't accustomed to it in the least.

I followed him with some difficult, angered that he wasn't asking me why or how my tail is ripped, just keeps a fairly slow pace in front of me, headed for the annoying air pocket cave where we usually keep prisoners to gain something better out of the humans.

I got a sinking feeling as we approached, Shikamaru was abnormally silent at least on a normal day he'd be perfectly fine with at least humming something. But having him so eerily silent made my skin crawl.

We both came up in the cave and I looked around, two tails had been visible from under the water and that made me scowl since only one was black like mine. I surfaced and caught the eyes as easily as if I'd wanted them; Sasuke and Kiba. One set of midnight black eyes and the other rich brown.

"Ember! You're alright, what happened with-"

"Shut up Kiba. I told you, your done here. So get going." I look to Kiba and see the glare on his face and I'm shocked when a voice that isn't his cuts him off.

"Stop being such a drama queen Sasuke. And Ember, welcome back… I hear you've had some major adventures… and a lot of it has to do with this kid here, doesn't it?" I turned my head to the side and looked at the tall dark haired figure I'd missed. His permanently reddened eyes looking at me with a playful smirk on his face as he sat on a rock behind the blonde boy I'd only seem Gaara giving looks at.

"Itachi! I hopped out of the water and rushed over to him I wrapped my arms around his neck, feeling his arms wrap around my waist and lifting my still bloodied feet off the ground. Because of our heritage nudity was never an issue among our kind, so the fact that we were both naked was something that neither cared about. "I missed you so much! You wouldn't believe what I've been through!" he set me back down on the ground and chuckled.

"Actually I do believe it… it's one of the reasons I've come back. Word on the tide was you're vying for a soul, and that your choice in victims is soulless. Now, how do you think this makes our clan look Ember?"

"I know what you're thinking Itachi, but I swear that-"

"Don't give excuses. Now just tell us where his 'Gaara' kid is so we can deposit the blonde and get back to our lives."

My eyes went wide as I looked behind me at the blonde boy, sitting on the flood wearing little more then a ripped pair of pants, his eyes glaring across from him at Sasuke, the glare being returned with that Uchiha harshness the three of us had. "Ember? Tell us where he is." I could tell it wasn't a question but the single moment of sympathy- or whatever that was -vanished and I just turned back to Itachi with a shrug.

"I don't know, last I saw of him he pushed me out a window. Didn't follow me out, told me to run and not stop." I gave a shrug but the feel of hands on my upper arms shocked me. Before either I or itachi could move to stop him the blonde was pushing me against a rock, making a sharp rock jut out into my back. "Ow!"

"Where is Gaara? Tell me right now!" I looked into the deep blue eyes that looked red from crying and raw with hate.

"He's in the palace! They caught him for letting me escape! I don't even know if he's-" I was cut off as the blondes hands went to my neck, stopping my speech as his fingers tightened.

Itachi, Sasuke, Shikamaru and Kiba all rushed over, trying to pray his hands from my throat and his body from mine as he yelled obstinacies at me. Telling me how horrible I was for not even trying to save Gaara, that I should have looked elsewhere for a soul because whether Gaara knew it or not the red heads soul belonged to him. I didn't even know this guy's name but I was scared to death of him. I opened my mouth to bite at his wrists when an arrow rushed passed my head and embedded itself at least three inches in the rock beside my ear.

"The next one of you to make a move, is going to really, really piss my off and get an arrow through their heads." my eyes widened as I turned around and saw Gaara standing there, black scabs all over his body and a harsh glare on his face, bow up and arrow drawn to shoot at my head.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

New admiration for my tracking skills, even under water they were superior to what I thought they were. But seeing four mer-people roughly jogging his body made me want to shoot them all with arrows, unfortunately I'd seen too many mer-people in the five minutes before that to know not to kill them.

"Now, all four of you can let him go now, and I'll live. But if not, my arrow wont miss a second time." I saw the look in Naruto's eyes and I steadied my feet to either shoot or take an attack.

"Gaara! You're alright!" he let Ember's throat go and I noticed right away that he moved towards me. Hands stopped him though and I turned to Shikamaru, my arrow not leaving it's trained position between Ember's eyes.

"Shikamaru… would you care to let him go? I've covered my side of the deal and more. And by the looks of it you weren't going to live up to yours since you're probably thinking about killing him.'

"No, I'm thinking about saving Ember."

"She's fine, Naruto's fine. So let him go."

"Hold it! I want to know one thing first." everyone turned to Ember and I could feel my eyes pierce the annoying look in her eyes wanting simply to shoot her. "What happened to your soul? And your blood, why's that black all of a sudden?"

"That's two, so choose."

"The latter." I clenched my jaw, knowing that both questions led to the same answer, I just wanted to know which answer she wanted more, turns out my blood was more important then heart- a reason she never had it.

"I'm half incubi… if you want more then that figure it out yourself. Now give him back." I ground my teeth together and prepared to loose the arrow.

All four sets of hands let him go and he rushed over to me, hiding behind my right shoulder since it'd move less even if I did shoot the arrows. "So… is that how you made it here? Since human lungs cant get this far under water." I looked at the new man and ground my teeth together.

"Well… are you going to have to excuse us." I loosened the tension of the bow and arrow.

I jerked my head towards the water to signal Naruto to get into the water. He slipped into the water and I moved over.

As soon as I got into the water behind him I told him to take a deep breath. "Hold it." I froze and turned my head around, noticing Shikamaru walking over and slipping into the water on the far side from us before resurfacing a few feet in front of me. "I might as well help the two of you. The sooner you're gone, the sooner I can get back to my life and have this all behind me. The sooner I can get back to pretending you don't exist."

I looked at him skeptically but nod my head a few times. "Good, take a deep breath and hold it." we both nod our heads and do as he says.

Each time Naruto needed a breath Shikamaru pressed a light kiss to his lips and transferred air into my wonderful blondes lungs. He offered over and over again to give me air on our fairly quick ascend to the surface but I kept refusing since we just kept getting closer and closer.

I figured I'd make it perfectly fine… until I blacked out.

-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-.-

I wasn't sleeping, but if I were to ever get close to it, I'm pretty sure that would be the feeling I'd want. It was warm, and soft, I could smell Ireland again, something I wasn't aware could happen outside Ireland… though in all reality I could have been there.

I could hear Naruto mumbling something and warm, caring fingers stroking my temple and running through my hair as I'd done for him so many times. Just by the angle of his fingers and the fact I felt nothing leaning against me I realized that my head was on his thigh, I was using it as a pillow.

"Gaara. Are you awake yet?"

"I don't sleep."

"Well, the snoring I've been hearing the last few days begs to differ Gaara. How do you feel?" I didn't want to leave the comfort of another one of my waking-slumbers, but if talking would allow me to hear Naruto's voice more then I'd have to.

"Tired… relieved… scared…" I heard the scoff in his voice and flinched, hoping he wouldn't think I was disgusting as I kept talking. "…that you'll hate me." that brought the chuckling to a stop and I cracked an eye open to look up at him.

We must be in some sort of extravagant hotel of sorts because the bed didn't feel like simple straw, real goose-down. He looked gorgeous, the morning rays shimmering through the window and making his hair look like a messy tangle of gold around his head.

"Why would I hate you Gaara? don't tell me; you killed Kurama? Because I'm sure I can live with that if it's completely-"

"I love you."

"-True, and even then I don't think that I'd dislike you for more then just a wee-" Naruto stopped, his eyes wide and staring ahead of him for a moment. I could see him pull his lower lip into his mouth and start to gnaw on it.

Without really thinking I sat up and kept my hand between his slightly parted legs to balance myself on the plush bed. His eyes flit to me for a moment before he looked down where I had been. The faint tint to his cheeks indicated embarrassment but at what I didn't know, so tentatively- oh so tentatively -I reached up with my free hand and used my thumb to gently tug his lip from between his teeth, seeing the slight amount of blood.

I took a moment to look at his lips, wondering what they'd feel like. I allowed my eyes to look up into his eyes and I was captured by the deep azure that was like the moment in a twilight sky after it's purple and as it's blue again before fading to black… a color that's been trapped in my head since our fingers brushed while reaching for the apple.

Softness, much softer then my mind even came up with. I'd wondered on occasion while kissing girls if Naruto's lips would be like theirs, or softer, or harder since he was male. But his lips were just lips, the sweetness is what held me. He must have just finished a strawberry and cheese breakfast because all I could taste were strawberries.

I found myself nipping his lower lip and gently snaked my tongue into his mouth as he gasped from the shock of it. He started to fall back and for a moment I was wondering what he was thinking was going to happen, wondering how far he was going to let me move before he got disgusted with me and forced me out of the hotel room.

Following his movements since I was unwilling to remove my lips from his until he pushed me away I laid down half on top of him the hand that had been keeping me balanced now gently spread out across his stomach as he reached up and tangled his hands in my hair.

I waited for him to rip us apart, anticipating it and knowing it'd hurt my feelings and heart more then my head, but at the same time I no longer had a heart in my chest to hurt.

Air was needed, but I didn't want to move away, scared that he'd never allow me to even look at him again, but I could feel the shaking in his hands in my hair and that they were in fact holding me in place, simply waiting for me to back away to take in the air that we both needed.

Our lips disconnected and we both gasped, Naruto starting to pant as I lowered my head to his neck and gently kissed the skin. I'd never wanted to kiss a girl before, only did it because they expected me to give them something out of the horrid nights I'd spent with them.

"G-Gaa…ra, w-what?"

"No, just a few more minutes. Please… humor me." I felt his hand in my hair and gently looked at him from where I was, no longer sucking at his neck but looking into hooded lust filled eyes.

"J-just tell me how long… how long have you loved me?" I felt the muscles in his stomach jump slightly as he says the word, the single word that I could hear coming from his lips again and again.

"Since I met you… when our fingers touched mine, or when mine touched yours." I could see the smolder of lust swirling in his eyes and moved up slightly to kiss just under his ear, sucking on the lobe as he let out a moan.

Right away I wished I hadn't heard it, I felt like there was no going back after that sound. It was like a silent bell ringing only so I could hear it and go to it. His hand went back to my hair and he tried to gently tug me away with another moan but I just kept at it.

"G-Gaara… I wa-want to tell y-you something." I drew my head back slightly, looking at the mark I'd left under his ear and smirked. I'd never left a mark on anyone before and even if Naruto rejected me then, I would have been alright knowing that he'd allowed me enough time to kiss him and taste him.

He grabbed my face and pulled my head so I was looking at him, his eyes brightly shimmering. "I-I love you too, Gaara." if my heart was still in my chest, it would have stopped, no matter where it was it might have stopped.

"Please Naruto… tell me I can love you." I knew my voice was pleading but he didn't seem to mind as he initiated another kiss. He blew my mind away as he flipped us over and pulled away with a laugh that could have made birds stop singing.

"Of course Gaara… as long as I get your heart in return." his smile so bright and kind that I didn't bother telling how true that'd be as soon as we made a final stop at our old tree so I could give him my heart and soul the way I'd always wanted.

**AN:**

**Me: alright, that's it… uh, I don't really know what else to say. This is my attempt of a Naruto fanfiction because it's been nagging me that Gaara's only in the authors notes of my stories. Oh! And I got a Deviant Art under the same name! (I have no art up yet though^^)**

**Shikamaru: what happens with me and Ember?**

**Me: sorry Shika, but I'm letting the readers decide that for themselves… make it happy or sad, do with it what you will.**

**Sasuke: how come I've never been in these authros notes before now? And why am I just asking instead of saying something important?**

**Me: because I don't like you; get over it! Hee hee hee! ^_^**

**Axel: are you going to do another KH fic next?**

**Me: I don't know… will you let me finish this one?**

**Roxas: you are technically done… you said so yourself.**

**Me: stop patronizing me and go clean my room!**

**Roxas: I'm not your slave.**

**Axel: actually Roxie, we all are. She just likes me, Gaara, and Shika too much to make us do-**

**Me: all of you! Clean it and then do my dishes!**

**Shika: why'd you have to say it? If you didn't say it, we wouldn't be roped into it you stupid red head.**

**Me: here is Gaara! And I'll see you next time you tune into a fic… NEVER THE SAME BAT TIME, AND NEVER THE SAME BAT CHANNEL!**

**Gaara: that was new… anyhow, please review, Elizabeth is a little discouraged by how many people are reviewing… so even if you just say 'hi' she'd be happy, just to know that people are reading. It. Have a good morning/afternoon/night and drive safe.**


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